Imogen Cooper facts for kids
Dame Imogen Cooper (born August 28, 1949) is a famous English pianist. She is known for playing classical music, especially pieces by composers like Schubert and Schumann. She has received many important awards for her musical talents.
About Imogen Cooper
Imogen Cooper was born in North London. Her father, Martin du Pré Cooper, was a musicologist (someone who studies music history and theory). Her mother, Mary Stewart, was an artist. Imogen grew up in a family filled with music, with her parents and older siblings.
When Imogen was 12, her parents noticed her amazing musical talent. They sent her to Paris to study music for six years at a famous school called the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique. This was a big decision at the time. Some people thought it was unusual to send a gifted child away so young to specialize in music in another country. There was even a long discussion about it in The Times newspaper!
In 1967, when she was 17, Imogen won a top award from the Conservatoire, called the Premier Prix de Piano. This showed how talented she was. Later, famous pianists like Arthur Rubinstein and Clifford Curzon helped guide her. She also studied in Vienna with Alfred Brendel, who greatly influenced her music. Even though she spent her teenage years in Paris, London has been her main home.
Imogen Cooper is especially famous for how she plays music by Schubert and Schumann. But she also plays modern music. She has even performed new pieces for the very first time, like Traced Overhead by Thomas Adès. Besides playing solo, she also performs with other musicians in chamber music (music for a small group of instruments) and lieder (German songs). She has worked with baritone singer Wolfgang Holzmair for a long time.
For her great contributions to music, she was given special honors. In 2007, she became a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). In 2021, she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE). She also received the Queen's Medal for Music in 2019.
Her Music Albums
Imogen Cooper has recorded many albums. Here are some of them:
- Robert and Clara Schumann Lieder: with Wolfgang Holzmair (2002)
- Eichendorff Lieder: with Wolfgang Holzmair (2002)
- Mozart: Piano concertos 23 and 9 (2006)
- Wolf Songs (2009)
- Mozart: Piano concertos 22 and 18 (2010)
- Schubert: Song Cycles with Wolfgang Holzmair (2012)
- Schumann: Davidsbündlertänze, etc. (2015)
- Imogen Cooper's Chopin (2016)
- Liszt and Wagner (2017)
- Beethoven: Diabelli Variations (2018)
- Iberia y Francia (2019)
- Le Temps Perdu (2021)
Awards and Recognitions
Imogen Cooper has received many awards and honors throughout her career:
- 1969: The London Mozart Players' Mozart Memorial Prize
- 1997: Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music
- 1999: Honorary Doctor of Music at Exeter University
- 2007: Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to music
- 2008: Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award
- 2008: Mentor for 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: Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to music
See also
In Spanish: Imogen Cooper para niños
