Dame Imogen Cooper graces the cover of the Spring issue of International Piano. She has announced that she will be retiring from the concert platform in February 2027, and her latest new recording – of Beethoven’s final three piano sonatas, for Chandos – will be her last. She discusses what lay behind this decision with Jeremy Nicholas and explains why she chose to end her recording career with late Beethoven.
Mark Ainley, Kenneth Hamilton and Jeremy Nicholas contribute regular columns, while the pianist Simon Callaghan offers the first instalment of a two-part feature exploring the practicalities of recording obscure repertoire, from discovering forgotten scores hidden away in an archive to releasing a finished album – involving financial planning and record-label negotiation before one even considers musical artistry.
For our Repertoire Guide this month, Richard Whitehouse makes a case for the Piano Sonata by Frank Bridge being taken up by more pianists, surveying the available recordings and recommending his favourite version. Alexander Malofeev introduces his debut solo album of Russian works on Sony Classical, and Murray McLachlan continues his ‘Nuts & Bolts’ educational series with advice on how to play ornaments. Our rare sheet music this issue is William Sterndale Bennett’s own arrangement of the Minuet and Trio from his Symphony in G minor, Op 43, a charming and accessible curiosity.
Our extensive reviews coverage offers critical assessments of a comprehensive range of new albums, with the best receiving the accolade of International Piano Choice. As ever, these reviews are supplemented with Nigel Simeone’s round-up of recent issues that you might otherwise have missed. Finally, our live reviews coverage casts its net far and wide, including reports from Le Piano Symphonique in Lucerne, the 33rd International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs in Paris, the Liszt Competition in Utrecht, and round-ups of concerts in London and New York.
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