All of the characteristics that distinguish Imogen
Cooper’s particular brand of pianism were here in abundance in this
recital: the warm, sensitive touch; the instinctive feeling for the
Romantic phrase; the careful elucidation of the music’s textures; the
skilful use of the pedal (bar a couple of careless clearances); the
essentially non-interventionist approach. But there was also something
more: including pieces with fiendish, if sometimes hidden, difficulties
revealed a rock-solid technique that has always been there, serving
the music first and foremost.
Originally, the programme was to have been purely by
Mr and Mrs Schumann, but a late substitution of Brahms’ Variations
on an Original Theme in D, Op. 21 No. 1 for Robert Schumann’s Novelette
in D, Op. 21 No. 2 meant that the gang was, so to speak, all present
and correct. In the end, the various pieces served to illuminate each
other resulting in a satisfying symbiosis of Romanticism brought about
by the common thread of Cooper’s sensitivity.
Clara Schumann’s Variations on a Theme of Schumann,
Op. 20 was given a performance that would be hard to better. Cooper’s
clarity of tone and chordal weighting meant that the first statement
of the theme was affecting in its simplicity. This piece, which dates
from 1853, is a well-constructed entity that seemed to flow perfectly
naturally in this performance, and as Clara’s imagination opened out
as the variations progressed, so Cooper blossomed. It is interesting
that Cooper is such an undemonstrative pianist (she moves very little
when she plays): all her energies, technical and musical, seem to be
concentrated into the projection of her interpretations.
The contrast between Clara and Robert’s musical worlds
was immediate and actually quite disturbing, for it threw into relief
not only Robert’s compositional superiority but also the delicate and
troubled balance of his mind-set. Cooper brought out the almost obsessive
elements of the Novelette in F sharp minor, Op. 21 No. 8 (1838)
and highlighted the delicate balance of the quirky and the positively
inspired. When Brahms appeared on the scene (later, in the second half),
Cooper’s clearly affectionate and lovingly shaded reading of the Op.
21 No. 1 Variations revealed how Brahms in lyrical and dreamy
mode nevertheless maintains an underlying harmonic directionality which
is more solid than some of Robert Schumann’s more extreme meanderings.
Brahms’ range of textures is remarkable, and it is in just this sort
of challenge that Cooper excels.
Faschingsschwank aus Wien, Op. 26 and the Humoreske,
Op. 20 hardly turn up in recitals every day, so it was a treat to have
them both in the same concert. If the Scherzino of Faschingsschwank
was somewhat cumbersome and the opening ‘Sehr lebhaft’ could have been
a little more abandoned (more schwungvoll, perhaps), Cooper relished
the yearning dissonances of the Romanze. It is a tribute to her
fingerwork that the Finale emerged as crystal clear, even from the back
of the hall.
There had been so much to enjoy up until the Humoreske
that it came by now as no surprise that Cooper could rise to the challenge
of this piece so effectively. She was palpably more exciting in the
opening sections (egged on by adrenalin, possibly) and brilliantly realised
the shifting, restless qualities of the piece. Her presentation of Schumann’s
sometimes bleak, fragmentary textures was all the more effective for
her lack of apology for them: no glossing over here. It almost went
unnoticed that the cripplingly difficult octave passages hardly caused
a ripple in the musical flow, so engrossed was one in the ongoing musical
argument.
Cooper is a pianist of many faces. As a Romantic recitalist
she obviously offers most rewarding experiences; she shows a commendable
advocacy of contemporary music (she co-commissioned and premièred
Adès’ Traced Overhead, for example); as a recitalist,
she is uncommonly attentive to her soloist’s needs while simultaneously
giving riveting accounts of the accompanying parts (her partnership
with Wolfgang Holzmair is clear testimony to this). Her concert on March
21st with Holzmair and her solo recital on April 25th both promise rich
musical rewards.
Colin Clarke
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