Peter Cooper on Way Home

New Zealand Listener, Volume 29, Issue 731, 17 July 1953, Page 21

Peter Cooper on Way Home

THE New Zealand pianist Peter Cooper, who is at present giving recitals in Australia, is expected to arrive home on July 21. He will spend a short time in Wellington rehearsing with the National Orchestra, and will give the first solo recital of his New Zealand tour at Napier on July 30. His first concerto performance will be given at New Plymouth on August 4

NE of Peter Cooper’s most interesting experiences since he was last in New Zealand was that of taking part in a play at the famous "Q" Theatre in Kew, London. The play, Virtuoso, was written by a friend of his, Cedric Wallis, and was about a young pianist. Peter Cooper’s task was to play the piano off-stage. "T’ve always been interested in the theatre," Mr. Cooper explained, "but this acquaintance with what goes on behind the scenes gave me a new respect for actors and the terrifically hard work they put into their shows. At one stage Virtuoso was censored, but ultimately it was televised by the BBC. Unfortunately, I was out of London at the time, or I would have played again for the TV performance." Since his last visit to New Zealand, Peter Cooper has been kept very busy with concert work, teaching and broadcast recitals. "I did two of a series of six Arnold Bax programmes for the BBC Third Programme," he said. "I think that Bax is one of the best of the English composers for the piano. He takes a lot of study, but he’s worth it. "Actually, I’m fond of a great many composers, and I try to keep my programmes well balanced among classical, romantic and modern works, although

I’m not much in sympathy with the clattering type of modern composition. I like to specialise in good works that are not often played-for example, Tchaikovski’s Months of the Year Suite." Peter Cooper is at present giving concerts and broadcasts in Australia. The Sydney Morning Herald critic recently commented on his playing in a review of a Sydney Youth Concert, at which he was soloist with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Joseph Post, in the Ravel Concerto. The young pianist, this critic said, "brought particular grace and warmth of style to Ravel’s Slow Movement. . . His fluent, nimble fingers stood the supreme test of the episodes where they must manage prolonged trills, curving tune, and rolling arpeggios all at once." The Sydney Daily Telegraph, under the heading "Pianist Impresses," commented: "He played with facile but unostentatious brilliance, never parading his virtuosity at the expense of the welded performance this concerto requires. His part in its presentation was sensitive, always tasteful, energetic, and yet restrained where needed." About two years ago this young New Zealander began exploring a new field when he started composing. Although he claims his work is still in the experi- mental stage, one of his compositions"Tango Caprice’-has already been published, and it will be included in his New Zealand programmes. Although he is extremely diffident about this aspect of his activities, he has also admitted to setting some modern. poetry to music, His main interest outside music is reading. Stendahl, among the French novelists, and E. M, Forster among the modern English, are two of the writers who give him particular pleasure. He reads in French, and "haltingly," he says, in German, which he learnt to speak when he lived in Switzerland and studied under the great pianist Edwin

fischer,

M.

Knuckey