Recognized worldwide as a pianist of virtuosity and poetic poise, *Imogen Cooper* has established a reputation as one of the finest interpreters of the classical repertoire. She has dazzled audiences and orchestras throughout her distinguished career, bringing to the concert platform her unique musical understanding and lyrical quality.
In the 2007/8 season Imogen Cooper’s performances include the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Colin Davis in New York and the Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra with Frans Bruggen in Amsterdam. She also continues her long term relationships play/directing with both the Britten Sinfonia and Northern Sinfonia. Her solo, lieder and chamber recitals this season include the USA, UK, Belgium and France. During 2008 and 2009 Imogen Cooper will be performing the last 6 years of Schubert’s solo works as part of the International Piano Series in London. Last season her performances included the Boston Symphony Orchestra (in subscription concerts and at Tanglewood) and the London Philharmonic Orchestra as part of the celebrations to mark the re-opening of the Royal Festival Hall.
Imogen Cooper has a widespread international career and has appeared with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra with Sir Colin Davis and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra with Sir Simon Rattle. She has also performed with the Royal Concertgebouw, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Dresden Staatskapelle and NHK Symphony Orchestras and undertaken tours with the Camerata Salzburg, Australian and Orpheus Chamber Orchestras. Imogen Cooper has played with all the major British orchestras including the Philharmonia with Christoph Eschenbach and the London Phiharmonic Orchestra with Mark Elder at the BBC Proms. Imogen Cooper has given recitals in New York, Chicago, Paris, Vienna, Rotterdam, Prague and at London’s Wigmore and Queen Elizabeth Halls.
As a supporter of new music, Imogen Cooper has premiered two works at the Cheltenham International Festival: _Traced Overhead_ by Thomas Adès (1996) and _Decorated Skin_ by Deirdre Gribbin (2003). In 1996, she also collaborated with members of the Berliner Philharmoniker Orchestra in the premiere of the quintet, _Voices for Angels_, written by the ensemble’s viola player, Brett Dean.
Imogen Cooper is a committed chamber music player. As a Lieder recitalist, she collaborates with Wolfgang Holzmair, in what has been hailed as ‘one of the greatest living partnerships in song’ (The Times, March 2002). They have performed recitals in major venues including Vienna, Paris, London and Frankfurt, and have worked together in a Mozart-Schubert-Mahler project with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. For Philips Classics they have recorded Schubert’s _Schwanengesang_, _Winterreise_, _Die schöne Müllerin_, a selection of Lieder and songs by Haydn and Mozart and Beethoven (_An die ferne Geliebte_), and Schumann’s _Heine Lieder_. Their disc of songs by Clara Schumann and Robert Schumann’s _Kerner Lieder_ was shortlisted for the Gramophone Awards in 2002, and their most recent release is a disc of Lieder based on settings of the poems of Eichendorff.
Imogen Cooper also performs and records frequently with the cellist Sonia Wieder-Atherton. They have recorded works by Rachmaninov, Fauré, Franck and Schubert (BMG France) and a 2-CD box set of Brahms sonatas and Bach will be released in 2007. She also performs regularly with the Belcea Quartet. Her solo discography includes six CDs of the piano works of Schubert’s last six years (Ottavo), a box set entitled “Imogen Cooper and Friends” encompassing solo, chamber and lieder works (Philips) and a recording of Mozart Concertos with the Northern Sinfonia (Avie)
Imogen Cooper received a CBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours in 2007.
