Jane Coop

Coop, Jane
Jane (Austin) Coop. Pianist, teacher, b Saint John, NB, 18 Apr 1950; Artist Diploma (Toronto) 1971, B MUS (Toronto) 1972, M MUS (Peabody Conservatory) 1974. She grew up in Calgary (from 1952) and studied there with Alexandra Munn and Gladys Egbert. She continued her studies 1968-72 with Anton Kuerti in Toronto. She won the CBC Talent Festival in 1970, the W.O. Forsyth Memorial Scholarship (for study in Europe) in 1971, and the Baldwin Prize in the Maryland International Piano Competition in 1972. She studied 1972-3 with various teachers, including Peter Feuchtwanger, in London and 1973-4 with Leon Fleisher in Baltimore. She moved back to Toronto but, with the assistance of two Canada Council grants, continued to study with Fleisher until 1976. In the meantime, she made her debut at the St Lawrence Centre in 1973. In 1975 she won the Washington International Competition, and also the only prize for piano performance awarded in the New York Concert Artists' Guild Competition. In 1977 she was a finalist in the Munich International Piano Competition (Bavarian State Radio). Between 1969 and 1980 she appeared 10 times with the TS; she also played with the CBC Vancouver Chamber Orchestra in 1972 and with the Calgary Philharmonic in 1976. She was a member 1975-6 of the Harvard Summer School Chamber Players and in 1976 toured in New England with the NACO. In 1979 she gave her London debut in Wigmore Hall.

Coop was Kuerti's teaching assistant in Toronto 1976-80, then she began teaching at the University of British Columbia, where as of 2003 she remained as professor of piano and chamber music. Concurrently with this commitment, she maintained an active concert career, appearing as recitalist or soloist in, among other places, New York, London, Washington, Moscow, Paris, Warsaw, Brussels, Budapest, Kiev, St. Petersburg, Prague, and Utrecht. She also played on numerous occasions in the USA (eg, with the Seattle and Oregon symphony orchestras) and in Canada with all major orchestras including the NACO, and the Edmonton, Saskatoon, Vancouver, Victoria, and Winnipeg symphony orchestras, and with such chamber ensembles as the Orford, Purcell, and Colorado string quartets and the York Winds. Coop toured Asia in 1994, performing in Japan, China, and Hong Kong.

Throughout her career she also played frequently on radio - including CBC, BBC, KRO (Holland), Polish Radio (Warsaw), NPR, and CJRT - and on television. Her premieres include Kristi Allik's Fragments (London, 1979), Stephen Chatman's Black and White Fantasy (Winnipeg, 1981), John Beckwith's Etudes (Vancouver, 1984), Jean Coulthard's Sonata No. 2 (Vancouver, 1989), and the world premiere recording of Malcolm Forsyth's Piano Concerto (SMCD 5124, 1993). Active as an accompanist too, Coop played in recitals of lieder and art songs with Ingemar Korjus, Rosemarie Landry, Janet Stubbs, and Catherine Robbin; she also performed chamber music with violinists Andrew Dawes, Martin Beaver, and others.

In 1989 she received a Killam Research Prize at the University of British Columbia. Earlier she created, with her husband, radio and festival producer George Laverock, the Skylark recording label. Coop recorded extensively; several of her recordings were nominated for Juno awards. She appeared at festivals including Festival Vancouver and the Kneisel Hall Festival in Maine, gave master classes, and served on juries including for the E-Gré and Dublin International piano competitions.

Coop's repertoire ranged widely over works from the 18th to the 20th centuries; her approach was as versatile as it was sensitive and persuasive. A pianist of superb technique, consummate musicianship, and enormous energy, her performances were compelling and always memorable.

Author Bryan N.S. Gooch, Florence Hayes, Nancy McGregor, Betty Nygaard King

Discography

Bach Partita No. 5 in G major; English Suite No. 3 in G minor. 1983. Skylark 8301

Bach - Mendelssohn - Berg. 1971. CBC SM-146

Beethoven Variations and Fugue in E flat Opus 35 'Eroica'; Sonata in E major Opus 109. 1982. Skylark 8201/(with Sonata in C minor Opus 111) Skylark 8802 (CD)

Chopin Nocturnes and Mazurkas. 1996. Skylark 9601

-The Late Works. 1999. Skylark 9902

English Piano Concerti: Finzi - Britten - Ireland et al. Bernardi cond, CBC Radio Orch. 2001. CBC SMCD 5208

Haydn Sonata No. 33, 53, 55, 56. 1985. Skylark 8501

Morawetz Sonata for Flute and Piano. Baxtresser fl. (1983). 6-ACM 16

Mozart Piano Pieces. 1988. Skylark 8801 (CD)

- Piano Quartets. Orford Str Quar. 1990. Skylark 9002 (CD)

Piano Concertos: Prokofiev, Bartok, Forsyth. Bernardi cond, Calgary Phil Orch. 1993. CBC SMCD 5124

The Romantic Piano Vol. 1: Chopin - Liszt - Schumann - et al. 1985. CBC MV-1015

The Romantic Piano Vol. II: Debussy - Schubert - Liszt - et al. 1995. CBC MVCD 1083

Scriabin - Beckwith Etudes - Hétu Ballade. 1983. RCI 553/(Beckwith)5-ACM 26/(Hétu) 4-ACM 31 (CD)

Themes and Variations: Mendelssohn - Schubert - Schumann - et al. 1992. Skylark 9201

Trios: Brahms - Jenner. Beaver violin, Campbell clarinet, Hackelman horn. 2000. CBC MVCD 1133

Bibliography

Marchant, Janet. 'The passion of a concert pianist,' Today Magazine, 6 Sep 1980;

Prunkl, Arlene. 'Not just plain Jane,' Music, vol 14, Sep 1991

Anderson, Don. 'Full scale talent,' Overture, Nov/Dec 1993

Bell, Nancy Merritt. 'Low-key virtuoso,' Vancouver Weekend Post, nd

Links to Other Sites
Jane Coop
A photograph of classical pianist Jane Coop. From the University of British Columbia.

Jane Coop – Canadian Pianist
A biography and discography for classical pianist Jane Coop. From the Andrew Kwan Artists Management website.

Skylark Music
The website for Skylark Music. Check their online catalogue for artist profiles and music samples from their recordings.

Governor General's appointments to the Order of Canada
Scroll down the page and click on the links to brief biographical notes of recent appointees to the Order of Canada. Click on "Find a Recipient" on the left side of the page to find previous recipients. From the website for the Governor General of Canada.