Imogen Cooper’s considerable reputation has been carved by her refined, majestic interpretations of late Classical repertoire. But now, she tells Jessica Duchen, it’s time to shake things up a bit with a little help from Liszt and Wagner
Between the big-blocked estates and snaking side-streets of Maida Vale, Imogen Cooper has found a small oasis that is a solitary pianist’s dream come true. ‘Stephen Hough came house-hunting with me and said I had to get this place – it’s perfect for a musician,’ she remarks. In her fan-shaped studio, among paintings, bookshelves and a garden full of trees, she can practise to her heart’s content. ‘I’m a great sleeper, so I usually don’t carry on till 3am,’ she remarks, ‘but this part of the house is not attached to next door, so I can work late without disturbing anybody.’
Cooper is one of those rare and special musicians whose artistic stature has always been high, yet never stops growing and developing. Indeed, many of her admirers feel she is now in her prime, reaching the stratospheres in new and wonderfully inspiring ways. She is the first to admit that she has perhaps taken a ‘slow burn’ approach. For many years her listeners associated her primarily with the Viennese classics – Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert in particular – although her interpretations of, for example, Schumann and Janacek indicated something very interesting was afoot beyond. But slow cooking can sometimes produce the tastiest results. In her sixties, Cooper has been turning at last to Chopin and Liszt, revealing a vibrant Romanticism with a powerful, personal voice. Was there a closet Romantic lying in wait all the time? ‘Definitely,’ she beams.
This story is from the March 2017 edition of BBC Music Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the March 2017 edition of BBC Music Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
FESTIVAL GUIDE 2024
It's that time of year again... Spring has finally sprung, and along with the promised sunshine we welcome a brand-new season of glorious summer music.
The mighty Sampson
As soprano Carolyn Sampson turns 50, she tells Ashutosh Khandekar about the development of her voice through a remarkable catalogue of recordings
Music to die for
From wrathful Verdi to ethereal Fauré, there are many different ways to compose a Requiem, as Jeremy Pound discovers
Avian anthems
From Vivaldi to Messiaen, composers have often been inspired by birdsong. But accurately mimicking chirrups and tweets in music is far more difficult than it sounds, finds Tom Stewart
THE BIG 400!
BBC Music Magazine has reached its 400th issue! To celebrate, we look back over eight milestone issues since the very firstin 1992
Northern light
From her first piano lesson, composer Errollyn Wallen has lived and breathed music; and though inspired by a range of styles, her composing is a deeply personal expression, as she tells Kate Wakeling
Felix Mendelssohn Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor
Jo Talbot celebrates the Mozart of the 19th century’ as she searches out the finest recordings of this masterful work for piano, violin and cello
Antonio Salieri
Forget the hate-filled murderer of Mozart, says Alexandra Wilson; the real Salieri was an opera composer of considerable standing
Aix-en-Provence France
Rebecca Franks breathes in the spring air in the popular southern city, where the music making sparkles and the sun always shines
Composing is like breathing. It's just something I do, like a hobby, really...or an addiction
The world's most performed classical composer, a small, black-suited figure with a mop of white hair and mutton-chop whiskers, stands on the huge Brucknerhaus stage, almost invisible among the sea of musicians.
