Hope Vera Kooper

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827):
• 1 32 Variations on an Original Theme in C minor, WoO 80 10:41
• Piano Sonata No. 7 in D major Op. 10, No. 3:
• 2 Piano Sonata No. 7 in D major Op. 10, No. 3: I. Presto 07:15
• 3 Piano Sonata No. 7 in D major Op. 10, No. 3 : II. Largo e mesto 09:47
• 4 Piano Sonata No. 7 in D major Op. 10, No. 3: III. Minuet. Allegro 02:29
• 5 Piano Sonata No. 7 in D major Op. 10, No. 3: IV. Rondo. Allegro 04:03
• John Corigliano (b. 1938):
• 6 Fantasia on an Ostinato 12:27
• Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor 'Quasi una fantasia', Op. 27, No. 2 'Moonlight':
• 7 Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor 'Quasi una fantasia', Op. 27, No. 2 'Moonlight': I. Adagio sostenuto 04:57
• 8 Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor 'Quasi una fantasia', Op. 27, No. 2 'Moonlight': II. Allegretto - Trio 01:55
• 9 Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor 'Quasi una fantasia', Op. 27, No. 2 'Moonlight': III. Presto agitato 07:36
• Ludwig van Beethoven:
• 10 An die Hoffnung, Op. 32 (Arr. Vera Kooper) 05:09
• Total Runtime 01:06:19

Info zu Hope

Following the enormous success of her Odradek debut with The Delta Piano Trio performing "The Mirror with Three Faces", Vera Kooper displays her pianistic depth and dexterity in solo piano music by Beethoven, including her own transcription of one of his songs, 'An die Hoffnung'.

Vera Kooper first became transfixed by Beethoven’s music in her teens, playing his piano works with increasing devotion, regarding them as a “manual for life”. For Vera Kooper, “Beethoven’s music is endlessly rich in its range of human expression and a timeless testament to humanity in all its facets.” Beethoven frequently dug deep to find courage and perseverance in the face of adversity, and as Kooper describes in her Artist Statement, included in the album booklet: “He wanted his music to be a voice of hope for mankind. The title of this album is inspired by my favourite German phrase, ‘Die Hoffnung stirbt zuletzt’: ‘Hope is the last to die’.”

Alongside the famous ‘Moonlight’ Sonata, with its vividly nocturnal opening movement, lilting central movement and breathless finale, we hear Beethoven’s skill with variation form in his 32 Variations on an Original Theme (WoO 80) and perhaps his first piano sonata masterpiece, the D major Sonata, Op. 10, No. 3. Kooper includes a modern twist in her programme with contemporary American composer John Corigliano’s 'Fantasia on an Ostinato', a work based on the famous repetitive idea from the second movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7. The album concludes with Vera Kooper’s own transcription of Beethoven’s song, 'An die Hoffnung, Op. 32', a song of longing in which the melancholy tone is cut through with hope. As Beethoven himself said: “Hope supports me, it is hope that feeds half the world and during my life I have always had it for a companion, or what would have become of me?”

Vera Kooper, piano

Vera Kooper
I was born in the Netherlands. There was always music in our home: my mother played the piano every day and as a six-year-old I remember singing along to Mozart’s Requiem in the car. One day, after hearing my mother practise Asturias by Albéniz, I decided that I wanted to play the piano as well. The next day she taught me how to play the piece by ear. ​

Music started out as a game. I simply enjoyed the pleasant feeling I got from moving my fingers over the keyboard, seeing how fast they could move while bringing out all sorts of magical sounds. My first piano teacher took me to concerts all the time. I remember that as soon as the music started I couldn’t move anymore. I was frozen, transported to another place, and I knew then that I wanted to live with music for the rest of my life. My first love was Mozart and at the age of eight I learned my first Mozart concerto. He felt like a friend to me. ​

As I grew up, playing the piano evolved from a children’s game into a more complete experience. We grew together, music and me, becoming more and more intertwined as the years went on. As a teenager, playing the piano kept me out of trouble. It was my escape into a safe world where every complicated emotion had a place. Later, it did get me into different kinds of trouble. I studied in Holland, Austria, France, Switzerland and Italy and was always living a nomadic life, always searching, always traveling. ​

A life in music means that there is “never a dull moment” and no two days are ever the same. There is always something new to discover, learn or hear. When I’m not playing the piano I love horse-riding, being in nature and writing. I am also an obsessive reader (concert tours are really just a cover for me to read for endless hours on trains, planes and in lonely hotel rooms) with a ridiculously eclectic taste. There is something about human nature and the telling of stories. We all want to share stories, to connect with each other or simply escape from reality. I think I made the choice early on to spend most of my time living in a parallel universe made of words and sounds. It’s where I feel most at home. ​

Dieses Album enthält kein Booklet