Gary Cooper (born 1968,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

) is an English conductor and classical keyboardist who specialises in the

harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...

and

fortepiano A fortepiano is an early piano. In principle, the word "fortepiano" can designate any piano dating from the invention of the instrument by Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1700 up to the early 19th century. Most typically, however, it is used to ref ...

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

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

and

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

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

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

, Classical and Romantic periods.

Career

Gary Cooper studied organ and harpsichord at

Chetham's School of Music Chetham's School of Music () is a private co-educational boarding and day music school in Manchester, England. Chetham's educates pupils between the ages of 8 and 18, all of whom enter via musical auditions. The music school was established i ...

, the John Loosemore Centre, and was an organ scholar at

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

, where he graduated with

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

. 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 a ...

cantatas A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning ...

and a new production of

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

's rarely performed opera, ''

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

'', at

Sadler's Wells Theatre Sadler's Wells Theatre is a London performing arts venue, located in Rosebery Avenue, Islington. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site. Sadler's Wells grew out of a late 17th-century pleasure garden and was opened as a theatre buil ...

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 The Wigmore Hall is a concert hall at 36 Wigmore Street, in west London. It was designed by Thomas Edward Collcutt and opened in 1901 as the Bechstein Hall; it is considered to have particularly good building acoustics, acoustics. It specialis ...

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'' referred to a variety of keyboard instruments, ...

'', 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 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

, 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

sonata In music a sonata (; pl. ''sonate'') literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cantare'', "to sing"), a piece ''sung''. The term evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms until th ...

s for piano and violin with violinist

Rachel Podger Rachel Podger (born 30 May 1968) is a British violinist and conductor specialising in the performance of Baroque music. Career Podger was born in England to a British father and a German mother. She was educated at a German Rudolf Steiner scho ...

, broadcast live as part of the

European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; , UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations in countries within the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) or who are member states of the Council of Europe, members of the ...

's Mozart Day. Gary Cooper has conducted for many ensembles including, the

Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin A German Akademie is a school or college, trade school or another educational institution. The word Akademie (unlike the words Gymnasium or Universität) is not protected by law, and any school or college may choose to call itself Akademie. A Som ...

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 in 1980 by its artistic director, Caroline Brown. The group's website explains the name thus: '' 'Hanover' signifies the Hanoverian period 1714-18 ...

, 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 A ...

(Mozart's ''

Die Entführung aus dem Serail ' () (Köchel catalogue, 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 . The plot concer ...

'' and Handel's ''

Alcina ''Alcina'' (Händel-Werke-Verzeichnis, HWV 34) is a 1735 opera by George Frideric Handel. Handel used the libretto of ''L'isola di Alcina'', a work set to music in 1728 in Rome by Riccardo Broschi, which he had acquired a year later during his t ...

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

Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama () is a conservatoire located in Cardiff, Wales. It has three theatres: the Richard Burton Theatre, the Bute Theatre, and the Caird Studio. It also includes one concert hall, the Dora Stoutzker Hall, and ...

and the

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

, and is Visiting Professor of fortepiano at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) 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 pe ...

Selected recordings

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

: ''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 Channel Classics Records is a record label from the Netherlands, specializing in classical music. The managing director and producer is C. Jared Sacks, who grew up in Boston. Sacks was schooled as a professional horn player at the Oberlin Conserva ...

*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 *

: ''Sonatas for Keyboard & Violin'' – Gary Cooper (fortepiano),

(violin). Label:

(in 8 volumes). * Weelkes: ''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 Choi ...

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

Naxos Naxos (; , ) is a Greek island belonging to the Cyclades island group. It is the largest island in the group. It was an important centre during the Bronze Age Cycladic Culture and in the Ancient Greek Archaic Period. The island is famous as ...

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 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 is a keyboard instrument of the harpsichord family. It was popular in Europe during the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. Description A virginals is a smaller and simpler, rectangular or polygonal, form of harpsichord. ...

), Gary Cooper (harpsichord), Jacob Heringman (

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck (music), neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lu ...

), Jeanette Ager (

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

). Label:

Philips Classics Philips Classics Records, commonly referred to as Philips Classics, was a classical music label founded by PolyGram that existed from 1983 until 2009. A new division called Philips Classics Productions was set up to manage the Philips Classics l ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

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

The Sixteen The Sixteen (previously known as the Symphony of Harmony and Invention) are a British choir and period instrument orchestra. Founded by Harry Christophers, they started as an unnamed group of sixteen friends in 1977, giving their first bille ...

. 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 Newcastl ...

: ''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

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 magazine edited and produced in the UK. It is currently among the oldest such periodicals to be still publishing in the UK, having been continuously in publication ...

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

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 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'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', 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. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'', 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 publis ...

'', 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 The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper and also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely read. It was purchased by the G ...

'', 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'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

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

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 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 English performers of early music People educated at Chetham's School of Music 21st-century English conductors (music) 21st-century English male musicians 1968 births Academics of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire 21st-century English classical pianists