2001| 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 "Gary Cooper…devised yet again a programme not just ingenious, but scholarly in the best sense." Conducting The Band of Instruments/Dido concert [The Oxford Times, Feb. 00] "..page after page of [this] characterful music driven by the fabulously robust harpsichord playing of Gary Cooper." Sonnerie/Radio 3 lunchtime [Glasgow Herald, Feb. 00] "Gary Cooper…is one of the country's finest young harpsichordists. His reading of this monumental work was distinguished by fluidity of technique which clarified the multi-layered strands of the immensely complex musical structure, and by perfectly-judged registrations..Lasting some ninety minutes in all, he clearly possesses both the physical, and the intellectual qualities such a work makes on the performer..the control of pace and mood was faultless. A memorable evening." The Goldberg Variations at the Tudeley Bach Festival [Tonbridge Courier, Mar. 00] ""In [Buxtehude's] Toccata in g..Gary Cooper showed, in the right hands, just how impressive and breathtaking this bold and dramatic music can be." Sonnerie concert, RSAMD [Glasgow Herald, Apr. 00] "..meticulous attention to phrasing and texture that was to be the hallmark of the evening…Gary Cooper was a powerful soloist in Bach's harpsichord concerto in d minor, driving the music of the outer movements with perfectly controlled, yet compelling energy." Soloist/director, Britten Pears Baroque Orchestra/Snape Maltings [East Anglia Daily Times, Apr. 00] "The New Chamber Opera ensemble approach these works with unfettered airiness and a pleasing domestic intimacy…the solo keyboard pieces are performed throughout with great originality and skill…A rewarding programme." Soloist/director: Purcell's Gresham Autograph CD [Gramophone, Apr. 00] "The New Chamber Opera, directed by Gary Cooper…bring attractive timbres, stylish ornamentation and a necessary depth of feeling to the music, and one could not want livelier or more beautiful playing from the instrumental ensemble." Rameau Cantatas CD [The New York Times, Apr. 00] "Stylishness and expressive freedom…his solo performance of the great Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue, full of light and shade, had about it an effoertless authority which encompassed not only the powerful drama of this extraordinary piece with its many changes of mood, but also all its decorative flourishes - sometimes florid and at other times exquisitely delicate." Bach chamber concert, Tudeley Festival [Tonbridge Courier, July 00] "…Bach with a twinkle in his eye, with Gary Cooper's free and rhetorical harpsichord playing of the Ricercar a 3..relishing the exploratory nature of the piece and savouring each moment before moving off onto another idea." Spitalfields Festival/Sonnerie, Musical Offering [Early Music Review, Sept. 00] "Every now and then there is a concert that goes beyond mere critical review. Gary Cooper's triumphant performance of the Goldberg Variations was one such - it was one of the finest I have heard. Like his playing of the Ricercar a 3 a few days before, the opening Aria was languid and rhetorical, with an improvisatory feel of exploration. But from the forcefully played first variation onwards, he threw caution to the winds. Living dangerously can be a disaster, but in this instance it worked, as we were propelled through an emotional rollercoaster. Variation 11 was like mice skittling over the keyboard, the twiddles in Variation 14 like pirouetting spiders, Variation 19 like a summer downpour - the snapped ending like a clap of summer lightening. The lengthy and chromatic Variation 25 was a spellbinding climax, in contrast to the vivacious and humorous Variation 23. A fantastic performance. I would like to think Bach played like this." Spitalfields Festival/Goldberg Variations [Early Music Review, Sept. 00] " When a player has had words like "masterly", "flawless", "unfailing elegance", and "stunning" applied to his erformances, as Mr Cooper has...the prospect was enticing to say the least. In the event it proved rewarding beyond expectations. Mr Cooper's performance took place before an enthralled audience...to hear this cornerstone of the keyboard repertory, under Mr Cooper's hands, was a privilege indeed...24 Preludes and Fugues might seem a dauntng prospect; not so in Mr Cooper's reading. The clarity of articulation, with sufficient flexiblity of tempo to retain life through even the most complex musical structures, made the evening pass quickly, leaving the packed audience eager for next Wednesday's performance of the Second Book...A distinguished evening, even by Tudeley's elevated standards." Bach: Well-Tempered Clavier Bk I /Tudeley Bach Festival [David Inman/Tonbridge Courier, Nov. 00] " This year's Tudeley [Bach] Festival reached an unforgettable climax and conclusion last week with a performance by the celebrated harpsichordist, Gary Cooper...There is a natural, unmannered elegance about G.C.'s playing which singles him out as one of the finest and most accomplished early keyboard players of our time. His is an art which conceals art [sic!]. He seems not to be concerned with "interpreting" Bach for a new generation but, of course, that is exactly what he achieves with all the resources at his command - flawless technique, superb dynamic control, and an articulation which yields power, clarity and the most delectable tones from Tudeley's beautiful new instrument...the genius of Bach and the artistry of G.C. took us into realms beyond the reach of words, and almost beyond the reach of music itself [sic x2!]." Bach: Well-Tempered Clavier Bk II /Tudeley Bach Festival [Robert Hardcastle/Tonbridge Courier, Nov. 00] " There has been a lot of Bach around these past 12 months, but Gary Cooper's recording of the first book of the Forty-Eight Preludes and Fugues makes a strong claim to being one of the finest offerings. Cooper combines the intellectual lucidity of a Leonhardt with an uncanny sense of expressive intensity, never afraid to slow the pace, to shape a phrase, to allow the music to make its point. The textures are kept clear..and there is an honesty about his playing that does not compromise the monumental feeling of the whole. It feels like a cycle, for Cooper leaves us, at the end of each prelude and fugue, thirsting for the next." Bach: Well-Tempered Clavier Bk I CD review [Sunday Times, Dec. 00 ] " There is a real gravitas about Gary Cooper's readings of Bach's first book of preludes and fugues, although this is never achieved at the expense of spontaneity or a sense of forward movement." Bach: Well-Tempered Clavier Bk I CD review [Music Week, Dec. 00] " CONDUCTOR'S ENERGY CARRIES "MESSIAH"...This year's [Messiah], under the baton of English harpsichordist Gary Cooper, is a high point in the ensemble's 14-year work with the piece. Cooper made his memorable PBO debut last year, and some of the hallmarks of that performance - meticulous attention to detail, vivid tonal color and a striking balance of restraint and dramatic excitement - were again in evidence. Even at relatively broad tempos, Cooper maintains a keen sense of energy. He took "He shall purify", for example, more slowly than most conductors, but with precision and a long crescendo..He took the section from a tender, measured opening to a quietly thrilling finish." Conducting the Portland Baroque Orchestra/Messiah [The Oregonian, Dec. 00] "..GC gives a sublimely spiritual, spacious yet unusually cogent reading of the First Book of Preludes and Fugues." 1st Choice, CDs of the Year [Sunday Times, Dec. 00] " Gary Cooper, at the harpsichord, beautifully navigated the ebb and flow of the fifth's solo cadenza." Sonnerie: Brandenburgs/St John's Smith Square [The Times, Dec. 00]