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Product Description
Product Description
Pianist Imogen Cooper continues her critically acclaimed Schubert Live series with the third 2-CD release of the composer's late piano music, recorded live at the Queen Elizabeth Hall.
The highly respected and acclaimed pianist Imogen Cooper is enjoying something of a renaissance with her ongoing series of Schubert's solo piano works on Avie. International accolades for the recordings abound, from NPR to the BBC, Gramophone to the New York Times. Imogen continues her exploration of the composer's late piano music with Volume 3, recorded live at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in December 2009.
Schubert was the ultimate romantic and Imogen brings out the full spectrum of his complex and colourful compositions, from the gentle German Dances, D790, and pearl-like Impromptus, D899, to the turbulent A minor Sonata, D 784, and mighty B flat Sonata, D960. Imogen says: "I'm not afraid of being described as a Schubert specialist," even though her active repertoire ranges from Bach to Thomas Adès. "He has taken up a lot of my waking time for more than 30 years. In fact, you could say that his songs and his piano music have sometimes been close to an obsession for me." It is more than 20 years since Cooper made a live and recorded survey of all the piano music Schubert composed from early 1823 until his death in 1828 at the age of 31. "One of the reasons I've taken it all up again is that I feel it ten times more strongly than I did 20 years ago: the message has become more direct to me. Schubert has become even more necessary to my well-being, and I sense strongly that he is important for an audience's well-being too."
Personnel: Imogen Cooper (piano)
Product Description
Musique pour piano 1823 - 1828 / Imogen Cooper, piano
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I attended the concert at the QE Hall when these performances were recorded. Thank heavens for the recording because there was no way you could maintain the concentration through a whole concert which is required to do justice to these magisterial performances. There was no showmanship or extraneous gesture of any kind, just an intense, deeply-felt understanding of the music delivered at a level beyond the reach of almost all other pianists. This is not Schubert the tune-smith, it is Schubert reaching the depths of the human soul. To listen to these performances you need to take time and abandon all your pre-conceptions. What an artist!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Retired Don
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Imogen Cooper's sequence of live performances ends with a stunning performance of D960, one of the very finest available. A 'must have' for anyone who loves late Schubert.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Revelatory and even more satisfying than her previous wonderful survey
7 Jan 2013
By I. Giles
TOP 50 REVIEWER
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Over the years I have collected a range of fine performances of these inspirational works by Schubert by widely respected pianists. My previous favourite however has been the set called 'The last six years' also by Imogen Cooper. This was, and still is, a set of reference studio recordings spanning the same repertoire.
Now, some years later the BBC has recorded her 'live' at the South Bank Centre. Comparing the two sets has been instructive and has resulted in my passing the earlier set onto a friend and keeping this new set. Why? The answer is simply that the interpretations have miraculously deepened while also having an extra spontaneity that frequently accompanies live music making. In addition the performances are technically flawless, the recording is utterly faithful and the audience mercifully silent, clearly mesmerised I would imagine.
The total contents of these two discs is as follows: sonatas 14, 15 and 20; 12 German Dances D 790; 4 Impromptus D 899; Allegretto; Hungarian melody.
Imogen Cooper's style is lyrically with plenty of detail brought out in terms of phrasing and accenting. Tempi are within the normal parameters but with a generally forward moving pace with rubato used sparingly. Interestingly, the effect of the rubato when used to slow the pace is to emphasise the overall forward nature of the playing rather than to produce a feeling of emotional overload and undue lingering.
I would therefore suggest that these peerless performances should figure highly on any list of desirable recordings of this repertoire. They would warrant serious consideration as both an 'only' purchase or as part of a collection. There are other fine performances available of this repertoire of course, but I would suggest that there are none finer and many not so fine.
Now, some years later the BBC has recorded her 'live' at the South Bank Centre. Comparing the two sets has been instructive and has resulted in my passing the earlier set onto a friend and keeping this new set. Why? The answer is simply that the interpretations have miraculously deepened while also having an extra spontaneity that frequently accompanies live music making. In addition the performances are technically flawless, the recording is utterly faithful and the audience mercifully silent, clearly mesmerised I would imagine.
The total contents of these two discs is as follows: sonatas 14, 15 and 20; 12 German Dances D 790; 4 Impromptus D 899; Allegretto; Hungarian melody.
Imogen Cooper's style is lyrically with plenty of detail brought out in terms of phrasing and accenting. Tempi are within the normal parameters but with a generally forward moving pace with rubato used sparingly. Interestingly, the effect of the rubato when used to slow the pace is to emphasise the overall forward nature of the playing rather than to produce a feeling of emotional overload and undue lingering.
I would therefore suggest that these peerless performances should figure highly on any list of desirable recordings of this repertoire. They would warrant serious consideration as both an 'only' purchase or as part of a collection. There are other fine performances available of this repertoire of course, but I would suggest that there are none finer and many not so fine.
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