Imogen Cooper, revered icon of the piano, returns to Portland Piano International for summer recital on July 31
Imogen Cooper
PORTLAND, OR — British pianist Imogen Cooper returns to Portland for a special summer recital presented by Portland Piano International (PPI) at Buckley Auditorium, University of Portland, on July 31, 2022.
Regarded as one of the finest interpreters of the classical and romantic repertoire, Imogen is internationally renowned for her stunning virtuosity, graceful lyricism, and poetic interpretations.
In a career that's spanned more than five decades, Imogen has performed across the globe as recitalist, chamber musician, and a featured soloist with a roster of the biggest orchestras around, including the New York Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and the Boston Symphony.
Imogen received a CBE in the Queen's New Year Honours in 2007 and was the recipient of an award from the Royal Philharmonic Society the following year. In 1997 she was awarded Honorary Membership of the Royal Academy of Music in London and in 1999 she was made a Doctor of Music at Exeter University. Imogen was the Humanitas Visiting Professor in Classical Music and Music Education at the University of Oxford for the 2012-13 academic year. In 2015, she founded the Imogen Cooper Music Trust, to support young pianists at the cusp of their careers and give them time in an environment of peace and beauty.
Conductor Sir Simon Rattle, with whom Imogen has shared the stage countless times, hailed her as "one of the greatest musicians England has produced. She's utterly without show. Mozart, Schumann and Schubert could have been written for her. There's a poetic, reflective side to her which is always there in her playing."
Imogen's Portland recital will offer audiences the opportunity to see her perform a work she has received significant acclaim for throughout her career — Schubert's restless, tempestuous Piano Sonata in A minor, D. 845. The second half of the program is dedicated to works by Ravel and Liszt that she recorded for her 2021 album, Le Temps Perdu — a collection of pieces she learned as a teenager in Paris, or in her early twenties working with Alfred Brendel in Vienna, but none of which she has performed in the years since.
This highly personal program will showcase every aspect of Imogen's consummate artistry — from her outstanding technical prowess to her sensitive, engaging musicianship.
SUNDAY, JULY 31 AT 4 PM
Buckley Auditorium, University of Portland
Schubert Piano Sonata in A Minor, D. 845
Ravel Sonatine
Liszt Les jeux d'eaux a la villa d'Este
Ravel Jeau d'eau
Ravel Valses Nobles et Sentimentales
Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No. 13 in A Minor
Tickets are available now at portlandpiano.org.
This concert will take place on the campus of University of Portland. For COVID-19 protocols, please refer to this link: portlandpiano.org/covid-guidelines.
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MEDIA CONTACT: Jonathan Eifert, 347.741.1913
jonathan.eifert@goldsoundmedia.com
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PORTLAND PIANO INTERNATIONAL has presented more than 180 artists in recital and through outreach activities. Some of the greatest pianists in the world of music have played for Portland audiences because of this organization. While pianists have many opportunities to play the concerto repertoire, this is one of only a handful of recital series that remains devoted to the solo piano recital. Portland Piano International is a vital part of Portland’s quality cultural life and it has consistently garnered praise from both the local and national media, heralded a “consistently brilliant Piano Recital Series” (Willamette Week) and “one of this city’s musical treasures” (The Oregonian).