| Label: SKYLARK Catalog: SKY0901 Format: CD Jane Coop - pianoLudwig van Beethoven: Sonata in E flat major, Op.7
Fryderyk Chopin: Scherzo No.4 in E major, Op.54
Johannes Brahms: Klavierstüke (Four Piano Pieces), Op.119 Wholenote Discoveries - March 2011
Celebrated Vancouver pianist Jane Coop’s most recent CD includes an early Beethoven sonata from 1797, Chopin’s Ballade No.4 (1842) and four late works by Brahms from 1893. The century in question was an important one in the history of the piano, seeing it expand from a five octave instrument to its current 88 keys thanks in great part to the vision and virtuosic demands of the composers mentioned above and others such as Schumann, Liszt and Scriabin. Coop excels at this repertoire as this welcome disc attests. Recorded at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC, the sound is clear and resonant. David Olds
This new collection of core repertoire by one of Canada’s favourite pianists spans the period from the 1790’s to the 1890’s. Beginning with an early Beethoven Sonata, and ending with the final four piano pieces of Brahms, the centerpiece is the popular fourth Scherzo by Chopin.
Coop’s previous Romantic Piano collections (Volumes 1 and 2) were best-sellers in the CBC Records catalogue… and now the Vancouver artist has added to these collections of short pieces some more substantial masterworks. It is, in effect, a recital of some of her most cherished music for piano.
Jane Coop continues to dazzle audiences around the world, from Oslo to Shanghai, from Berlin to Tofino. As the Montreal Gazette remarked “ Coop has that extra something that lets a pianist become a poet”. |