View source for Imogen Cooper

{{Short description|English pianist}}
{{More footnotes needed|date=June 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2016}}
'''Dame Imogen Cooper''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|DBE}} (born 28 August 1949) is an English pianist.

== Biography ==
Cooper was born in North [[London]], daughter of the musicologist [[Martin Cooper (musicologist)|Martin du Pré Cooper]] and artist Mary Stewart. She grew up surrounded by music through her parents and her older siblings: Felicity, Josephine and [[Dominic Cooper (author)|Dominic Cooper]]. Realising that Imogen had an exceptional musical talent her parents sent her at the age of 12 to [[Paris]] to study for six years at the [[Conservatoire de Paris|Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique]] (CNSM) with [[Jacques Février]], [[Yvonne Lefébure]] and [[Germaine Mounier]]. This was considered a provocative move by the music establishment, and there was a lengthy correspondence in ''The Times'' between [[Thomas Armstrong (musician)|Thomas Armstrong]], Principal of the [[Royal Academy of Music]] in London, and Martin Cooper, arguing the pros and cons of taking a gifted child out of conventional education to specialise so early, and in a foreign country.

In 1967 at the age of 17, the CNSM awarded her a Premier Prix de Piano, a major distinction. Cooper was mentored in her late teens by [[Arthur Rubinstein]] and [[Clifford Curzon]], and subsequently studied in Vienna with [[Alfred Brendel]], [[Paul Badura-Skoda]] and [[Jörg Demus]], particularly in her early twenties by Brendel, an experience that has resonated with her throughout her performing life. Apart from spending her teenage years in Paris, London has been Cooper's principal residence.

She is particularly known for her interpretations of [[Franz Schubert|Schubert]] and [[Robert Schumann|Schumann]], but she has also been involved in modern music, giving the premières of works such as ''[[Traced Overhead]]'' by [[Thomas Adès]].    As well as performing as soloist she participates in chamber music and  lieder, and has had a long-standing partnership with baritone [[Wolfgang Holzmair]].

She was appointed [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (CBE) in the [[2007 New Year Honours]]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6217081.stm|title=Honours for Stewart and Glennie |date=30 December 2006|work=BBC News|access-date=15 May 2008}}, para. 12.</ref> and [[Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (DBE) in the [[2021 Birthday Honours]] for services to music.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=63377|supp=y|page=B8|date=12 June 2021}}</ref> She was awarded the [[Queen's Medal for Music]] in 2019.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Queen's Medal for Music 2019 |url=https://www.classical-music.com/news/pianist-imogen-cooper-wins-the-queens-medal-for-music-2019/ |publisher=Classical Music |date=28 Aug 2020 }}</ref>

== Discography ==

* ''Robert and Clara Schumann Lieder: with Wolfgang Holzmair'' (Philips /462-610-2, 2002)
* ''Eichendorff Lieder: with Wolfgang Holzmair'' (Philips/464-991-2, 2002)
* ''Mozart: Piano concertos 23 and 9'' (Avie/AV2100, 2006)
* ''Wolf Songs'' (Wigmore Hall Live/WHLIVE0029, 2009)
* ''Mozart: Piano concertos 22 and 18'' (Avie/AV2200, 2010)
* ''Schubert: Song Cycles with Wolfgang Holzmair'' (Decca Box set/CD0289 478 42729, 2012)
* ''Schumann: Davidsbündlertänze, etc.'' (Chandos/CHAN10874, 2015)
* ''Imogen Cooper's Chopin'' (Chandos/CHAN10902, 2016)
* ''Liszt and Wagner'' (Chandos/CHAN10938. 2017)
* ''Beethoven: Diabelli Variations'' (Chandos/CHAN20085, 2018)
* ''Iberia y Francia'' (Chandos/CHAN20119, 2019)
* ''Le Temps Perdu'' (Chandos/CHAN20235, 2021)

== Honours and awards ==

* 1969: The London Mozart Players' Mozart Memorial Prize
* 1997: Hon. Member of the Royal Academy of Music
* 1999: Hon. Doctor of Music at Exeter University<ref>{{cite web |title=Previous honorary graduates {{!}} Honorary graduates {{!}} University of Exeter |url=https://www.exeter.ac.uk/about/honorarygraduates/previous/#a4 |website=www.exeter.ac.uk |access-date=26 October 2023}}</ref>
* 2007: New Year Honours, CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) for services to music
* 2008: [[Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards|Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Instrumentalist: Past Winners |url=https://royalphilharmonicsociety.org.uk/awards/rps_music_awards/latest-winners/past-winners/instrumentalist |website=royalphilharmonicsociety.org.uk |publisher=Royal Philharmonic Society |accessdate=9 September 2020 |archive-date=23 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211223003454/https://royalphilharmonicsociety.org.uk/awards/rps_music_awards/latest-winners/past-winners/instrumentalist |url-status=dead}}</ref>
* 2008: Mentor on the RPS Philip Langridge mentoring scheme
* 2012–13: Humanitas – Visiting Professor in Classical Music and Music Education at the University of Oxford.
* 2019: The Queen's Medal for Music
* 2021: Appointed to chair the Leeds International Piano Competition jury
* 2021: Birthday Honours, DBE (Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire) for services to music<ref>{{cite web |title=Queen's Birthday Honours: 2021 - GOV.UK |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/60cc8fb3e90e0743934f6b91/BD21_Honours_List_Transparency_List_-_FINAL_-_BD21_Transparency_List.csv/preview |website=gov.uk |access-date=26 October 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* {{cite news |url=http://music.guardian.co.uk/classical/story/0,,2280014,00.html |title=The slow burner|last=Moss|first=Stephen|date=15 May 2008|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=15 May 2008}}
* {{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/11/arts/music/11coop.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1210842026-ZOgdKTh5c3vgX05nCL91EA |title=Imogen Cooper at Zankel Hall: Virtuosity Without Razzle-Dazzle |last=Tommasini|first=Anthony|author-link=Anthony Tommasini|date=11 May 2006|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=15 May 2008}}

==External links==
* [http://www.imogen-cooper.com/ Imogen Cooper] (Official website)
* [http://www.askonasholt.co.uk/artists/instrumentalists/piano/imogen-cooper Askonas Holt] (Manager's website)

{{Queen's Medal for Music}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Imogen}}
[[Category:1949 births]]
[[Category:Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Honorary members of the Royal Academy of Music]]
[[Category:Musicians awarded knighthoods]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:British women classical pianists]]
[[Category:Helpmann Award winners]]
[[Category:21st-century English classical pianists]]
[[Category:20th-century English classical pianists]]
[[Category:20th-century English musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century English women pianists]]
[[Category:21st-century English women pianists]]