Pianist Imogen Cooper has many rare gifts. One is to convey the thoughts and emotions of others with clarity. This is a trait that is prized in all walks of life. For Dame Cooper, it has defined a legendary career as a concert pianist, recipient of many prestigious accolades in the U.K. Her influences include her music critic father, her studies in Paris and Alfred Brendel.
What you missed
On March 5, Cooper stopped by Koerner Hall in Toronto, to perform a program consisting of mainstream “classical” music – Liszt, Beethoven and Schubert. The acoustics of the Hall are ideal.
Cooper’s style is marked by intense, graceful focus. Heading onto the stage she launched into the first work on the program, Liszt’s Three Petrarch Sonnets from Annees de Pelerinage, deuxieme annee (Italie), s.161. This was followed by Beethoven’s Sonata No. 30 in E Major, op. 109. Next, Schubert’s Piano Sonata in C Major, D. 840 Reliquie (Unfinished) was performed after the intermission. By way of capstone, Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 32 in C Minor, op. 111 followed.
Throughout the afternoon, Cooper’s eloquent voicing produced the clearest of lyrical melodies, legato superimposed over contrasting bass accompaniment. Artful, crafting, graceful, thoughtful and emotional playing throughout, she never veered to exaggeration always exuding the precept that “balance is everything”.
Liszt was performed with poetic grandeur and without showmanship. The tone was warm, never harsh nor percussive. Schubert was unfinished at the composer’s death. It was performed with a sense of controlled urgency and restrained direction, reminiscent of Brendel.
The highlight of the program was Beethoven’s last sonata, composed when Beethoven was deaf. It is dedicated with gratitude to his friend, pupil and patron, Archduke Rudolph. There are two contrasting movements, Maestoso and Arietta, the latter comprises variations. It is a profound commentary on passing the torch.
Even when the music seems to thunder with pathos, Cooper found a way to draw out tenderness by unbundling the thick texture, with clarity and focused lyrical voicing. Magnificently, Cooper paved through passages of darkness, chaos, whimsy, futuristic jazzy rhythms, struggle and resolution – to ethereal silence.
Brendel famously noted in The New Yorker that “listen” is an anagram of “silent”, and that silence is the essence of music itself. It was a wonderful concert, one that will be remembered for years to come.
