Gary Cooper (born London, 1968) is an English conductor and classical keyboardist who specialises in the harpsichord and

fortepiano A fortepiano , sometimes referred to as a pianoforte, is an early piano. In principle, the word "fortepiano" can designate any piano dating from the invention of the instrument by Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1698 up to the early 19th century. Mo ...

. He is known as an interpreter of the keyboard music of

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...

and Mozart, and as a conductor of historically informed performances of music from the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

, Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods.

Career

Gary Cooper studied organ and harpsichord at

Chetham's School of Music Chetham's School of Music () is an independent co-educational music school in Manchester, England. Chetham's educates students between the ages of 8 and 18, all of whom enter via musical auditions. Students receive a full academic education a ...

, the John Loosemore Centre, and was an organ scholar at New College, Oxford, where he graduated with

First Class Honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

. In 1990 while still a student at Oxford, he co-founded

New Chamber Opera New Chamber Opera is a professional opera company located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It specialises in the fields of chamber opera and music theatre, and produces rarely performed works from the Baroque era to the present. It is a member of the ...

, and has conducted many of their performances, including a complete recording of

Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau (; – ) was a French composer and music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of French opera and ...

's cantatas and a new production of Handel's rarely performed opera, ''

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

'', at Sadler's Wells Theatre in 2006. Between 1992 and 2000, he was a member of the baroque ensemble, Trio Sonnerie, with whom he performed regularly throughout Europe and the United States. Cooper made his

Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadi ...

solo recital debut on 1 December 2000 with a performance of Bach's complete ''

Well-Tempered Clavier ''The Well-Tempered Clavier'', BWV 846–893, consists of two sets of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys for keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach. In the composer's time, ''clavier'', meaning keyboard, referred to a variety of in ...

'', and has frequently appeared as a recitalist both in the UK and in Europe. Several of his performances have been broadcast on BBC Radio 3, including his 22 November 2004 recital at the Cosmo Rodewald Concert Hall in Manchester and his 29 January 2006 Wigmore Hall performance of Mozart's sonatas for piano and violin with violinist

Rachel Podger Rachel Podger (born 1968 in England) is a British violinist and conductor specialising in the performance of Baroque music. Career Podger was born to a British father and a German mother. She was educated at a German Rudolf Steiner school then ...

, broadcast live as part of the European Broadcasting Union's Mozart Day. Gary Cooper has conducted for many ensembles including, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin,

Irish Baroque Orchestra The Irish Baroque Orchestra is an early music ensemble based in Ireland. Irish Baroque Orchestra is Ireland’s only professional period instrument orchestra. It was established in 1996 by Mark Duley and Thérèse Timoney. The artistic director ...

Hanover Band The Hanover Band is a British orchestra specialised in historically informed performance, founded by its artistic director, Caroline Brown. The group's website explains the name thus: '' 'Hanover' signifies the Hanoverian period 1714-1830 and ' ...

, and

English Touring Opera English Touring Opera (ETO) is an opera company in the United Kingdom founded in 1979 under the name Opera 80 by the then-existing Arts Council of Great Britain. In 1992 the company changed to its present name. Today it is sponsored in part by Art ...

(Mozart's ''

Die Entführung aus dem Serail ' () ( K. 384; ''The Abduction from the Seraglio''; also known as ') is a singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Gottlieb Stephanie, based on Christoph Friedrich Bretzner's ''Belmont und Constanze, oder Di ...

'' and Handel's ''

Alcina ''Alcina'' (Händel-Werke-Verzeichnis, HWV 34) is a 1735 opera seria by George Frideric Handel. Handel used the libretto of ''L'isola di Alcina'', an opera that was set in 1728 in Rome by Riccardo Broschi, which he acquired the year after during ...

''Thicknesse (18 October 2005)). He also teaches harpsichord and fortepiano at the

Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama , image_name = Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.jpg , image_size = , motto = , established = 1949 , type = Public , staff = , vice_chancellor = , students = 779 (2017/18) , undergrad ...

and the

Birmingham Conservatoire The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire is a music school, drama school and concert venue in Birmingham, England. It provides professional education in music, acting, and related disciplines up to postgraduate level. It is a centre for scholarly res ...

, and is Visiting Professor of fortepiano at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including performanc ...

Selected recordings

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...

: ''Late Piano Works'' (Sonata in C, Hob, xvi:48), Sonata in Eb, Hob, xvi:49, and Sonata in Eb, Hob.xvi:52) – Gary Cooper (fortepiano). Label: Channel Classics *Haydn: Symphonies 41, 44, and '' 49'' – Arion Baroque Orchestra, Gary Cooper (conductor). Label: Early-Music *

: ''Complete Cantatas'' – New Chamber Opera, Gary Cooper (conductor). Label: 2 CD Gaudeamus 1999 *Charpentier: ''Andromède'' H.504, ''Le Ballet de Polieucte'' H.498 – Giles Underwood, bass, James Gilchrist, tenor, Thomas Guthrie, baritone, Rachel Elliott, soprano, The Band of Instruments, Chorus, New Chamber Opera, Gary Cooper (conductor). Label: Gaudeamus 2002 *

Charpentier Charpentier () is the French language, French word for "carpenter", and it is also a French surname; a variant spelling is Carpentier. In English, the equivalent word and name is "Carpenter (surname), Carpenter"; in German, "Zimmermann (disambigua ...

: ''Le Mariage forcé'' H.494, ''Les Fous divertissants'' H.500 – John Bernays, bass, Nicolas Hurndall Smith, tenor, Rachel Elliott, soprano, Christoph Wittmann, countertenor, The Band of Instruments, Chorus, New Chamber Opera, Gary Cooper (conductor). Label: ASV Gaudeamus 1997 * Mozart: ''Sonatas for Keyboard & Violin'' – Gary Cooper (fortepiano),

(violin). Label: Channel Classics (in 8 volumes). *

Weelkes Thomas Weelkes (baptised 25 October 1576 – 30 November 1623) was an English composer and organist. He became organist of Winchester College in 1598, moving to Chichester Cathedral. His works are chiefly vocal, and include madrigals, anth ...

: ''Anthems'' – Oxford Camerata –

Jeremy Summerly Jeremy Summerly (born 28 February 1961) is a British conductor. He was educated at Lichfield Cathedral School, Winchester College, and New College, Oxford. While at Oxford he conducted the New College Chamber Orchestra and the Oxford Chamber Ch ...

(conductor), Gary Cooper (organ). Label:

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best ab ...

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's ''Musick'' – Gary Cooper (

virginal The virginals (or virginal) is a keyboard instrument of the harpsichord family. It was popular in Europe during the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. Description A virginal is a smaller and simpler rectangular or polygonal form of ha ...

), Gary Cooper (harpsichord), Jacob Heringman ( lute), Jeanette Ager ( mezzo-soprano). Label:

Philips Classics Philips Classics Records was started in the 1980s as the new classics record label for Philips Records. It was successful with artists including Alfred Brendel, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fie ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

: ''Requiem'' – Gary Cooper (organ), Keith McGowan (bajan),

The Sixteen The Sixteen are a United Kingdom-based choir and period instrument orchestra; founded by Harry Christophers, they started as an unnamed group of sixteen friends in 1977, giving their first billed concert in 1979. The group performs early Engl ...

. Label: Coro *

Charles Avison Charles Avison (; 16 February 1709 (baptised)9 or 10 May 1770) was an English composer during the Baroque and Classical periods. He was a church organist at St John The Baptist Church in Newcastle and at St. Nicholas's Church (later Newcas ...

: ''Sonatas for Harpsichord Opp. 5 and 7'' – The Avison Ensemble, Gary Cooper (harpsichord). Label: Divine Art * John Garth: ''Accompanied Keyboard Sonatas Opp. 2 and 4'' – The Avison Ensemble, Gary Cooper (harpsichord, spinet, square piano & organ). Label: Divine Art

Notes and references

* BBC Radio 3
A Bach Christmas
broadcast 19 December 2004. *BBC Radio 3
European Broadcast Union Mozart Day
broadcast 29 January 2006. *Beaucage, Réjean
"Tempête et passion"
''Voir Montréal'', 20 November 2008. Accessed 8 May 2009. *Crankshaw, Geoffrey

(review), ''

Musical Opinion ''Musical Opinion'', often abbreviated to ''MO'', is a European classical music journal edited and produced in the UK. It is currently among the oldest such journals to be still publishing in the UK, having been continuously in publication sinc ...

'', March 2001. Accessed via subscription 8 May 2009. *Fairclough, Pauline
"Harpsichordfest"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 30 March 2004. Accessed 8 May 2009. * GoldbergWeb
"Ever present at New Chamber Opera events is the Company's founding conductor, Gary Cooper"
(profile). Accessed 8 May 2009. *Griffiths, Paul

(review of Cantatas. New Chamber Opera Ensemble, conducted by Gary Cooper), ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 7 April 2000. Accessed 8 May 2009. *Holden, Anthony
"Kindly get that mirror off the stage"
''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'', 25 March 2007. Accessed 8 May 2009. *Monk, Christopher
"Independent Opera's Orlando at Sadler's Wells"
(review), ''Musical Opinion'', January 2007. Accessed via subscription 8 May 2009. *Picard, Anna

''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'', 30 June 2002. Accessed 8 May 2009. *Strini, To
"Trio, flutist add life to Bach logic – Composer keeps them busy, but not too busy to have fun"
'' Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'', 22 March 1997. Accessed via subscription 8 May 2009. *Swed, Mark
"The sonata, unplugged: Performing Mozart's works for violin and fortepiano on, well, the violin and fortepiano restores harmony and the costar billing the composer intended"
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'', 9 October 2005, p. E42. Accessed 8 May 2009. *Thicknesse, Rober
"Opera review: Alcina"
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'', 18 October 2005. Accessed 8 May 2009.

External links

Artist's page
Gary Cooper official web site on LoganArts Management {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Gary British male conductors (music) British fortepianists British harpsichordists Alumni of New College, Oxford Academics of the Royal College of Music Living people British performers of early music People educated at Chetham's School of Music 21st-century British conductors (music) 21st-century classical pianists 21st-century British male musicians 1968 births