Imogen Cooper - Works By Beethoven, Mozart, And Ravel (2007)

Tracklist

01. Piano Sonata No. 28 in A Major, Op. 101: I. Etwas Lebhaft Und Mit Der Innigsten Empfindung
02. Piano Sonata No. 28 in A Major, Op. 101: II. Lebhaft, Marsch
03. Piano Sonata No. 28 in A Major, Op. 101: III. Langsam Und Sehnsuchtsvoll - Zeitmab Des Ersten Stukes
04. Piano Sonata No. 28 in A Major, Op. 101: IV. Geschwinde, Doch Nicht Zu Sehr, Und Mit Entschlossenheit
05. Piano Sonata in A Minor, K. 310: I. Allegro Maestoso
06. Piano Sonata in A Minor, K. 310: II. Andante Cantabile
07. Piano Sonata in A Minor, K. 310: III. Presto
08. Miroirs: I. Noctuelles
09. Miroirs: II. Oiseaux Tristes
10. Miroirs: III. Une Barque Sur l'ocean
11. Miroirs: IV. Alborada del Gracioso
12. Miroirs: V. La Vallee Des Cloches
13. La Terrasse de Audiences Du Clair de Lune (From Preludes, Book 2)

Throughout her live programme Imogen Cooper's poise and overall artistry make a refreshing change from a more overt, less subtle virtuosity.
She captures all of Beethoven's speculative beauty at the start of his Op 101 Sonata, and if others are more fiercely energised in the second movement march, with its prophecy of Schumann's obsessive dotted rhythms, few are more stylish and refined. Again, if her view of Mozart's A minor Sonata could be thought sometimes self-consciously beautiful or manicured, there is no denying her calibre, never more so than in her urgent propulsion of the wind-swept finale.
Cooper studied with Kathleen Long in London and Jacques Février in Paris, which gives her Ravel a special distinction. Less animated or razor-sharp than others in 'Alborada del gracioso', she never forces the issue, and there is never a hint of the literalism that is the bane of many French pianists. 'Noctuelles', 'Oiseaux tristes' and 'La vallée des cloches' come beguilingly alive when played with such freedom and fantasy, yet always within a scrupulously true and accurate framework.
For her encore Cooper gives us Debussy's 'Les terraces des audiences', reminding you in every elusive phrase that subtlety and finesse are at the very heart of great French piano writing.
The BBC's soft-grained sound is ideally attuned to this never less than beautiful recital.

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