PIANIST RETURNS TO CHRISTCHURCH

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28518, 22 February 1958, Page 2

PIANIST RETURNS TO CHRISTCHURCH

Peter Cooper On N.Z. Tour

“My interests are fairly wide, although all pianists like those composers who write specially for the piano,” said Mr Peter Cooper, the Christchurch pianist, who has returned to New Zealand for a brief tour, in an interview yesterday. “The more experience the better. At the moment I am keen on chamber- music—for the discipline—and it is also a lot of fun playing in groups.” During the fitst fortnight of March, Mr Cooper will give three concerts in Christchurch —a Chopin, a Beethoven, and a general programme. He will also play with the National Orchestra and for the Broadcasting Service. “It was an eye-opener to me; I had no idea they were so keen on Western music in India,” Mr Cooper said. “There are young Indian students who would be good anywhere—some take to Western music to the exclusion of their own. I played for one society which was trying our music for the first time, and it was very pleased with it.” During the last few years Mr Cooper has travelled widely. Since his last New Zealand tour in 1953, he has played in Germany, England, Switzerland, India, and Ceylon. Mr Cooper said he was greatly impressed with Germany. “The concerts there are wonderful. So are the pianos and the audiences,” he said. Mr Cooper will return to Germany at the end of this year. In Germany, he played “Chaconne,” by the New Zealand composer, Douglas Lilburn, and found it received with great interest.

When he leaves Christchurch in mid-April, Mr Cooper will go to Wellington and from there to Sydney and back to Europe to prepare for concerts in England, Germany, and the Far East.