Amsterdam, Holland, native, Kees Kooper, began playing piano and violin at age five. He changed early plans for a career in mathematics and engineering to be a professional violinist. A prizewinner in the International Queen Elizabeth of Belgium Violin Contest, Mr. Kooper debuted in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, receiving a standing ovation and rave reviews. The New York Times wrote of his New York debut: “a violinist of considerable stature has arrived on the scene… He plays with an eloquence not often heard in our concert halls.”  He has been soloist in violin concerti of Mozart, Brahms, Tchaikowski, Prokofieff, Barber, Khachaturian, Berg, and others.

Mr. Kooper’s chamber music career parallels his solo work. With the late Mary Louise Boehm, he concertized as the Kooper-Boehm Duo, regarded as one of the world’s foremost violin-piano teams. Mr. Kooper also performed with the New York String Sextet, the Cremona Trio, and other ensembles. His name appears on many recordings. From 1976 to 1988 he was concertmaster of the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra in Amsterdam. Mr. Kooper has held university positions, lectured, and published articles on music; he is currently preparing a book on Beethoven. Kees Kooper has given hundreds of concerts in America, Europe, Russia and the Far East, playing in all major capitals of the world. He has performed at New York’s Carnegie, Steinway, Merkin and Town Halls; the Metropolitan Museum, the Frick Gallery and other venues. This is Mr. Kooper’s twelfth appearance on the Historical Piano Concerts Series.

Emily White has appeared as recitalist, concerto soloist, and collaborative artist in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and both Western and Eastern Europe.  Her ensemble work has included performances with the Artaria String Quartet (now the Emperor Quartet), vocal coaching fellowships at Tanglewood and The Juilliard Opera Center, and a summer as official accompanist for strings at the Gubbio Festival in Italy, where she performed in live broadcast on the RAI, Italian National Television. Dr. White received music degrees from the University of Maryland, The Juilliard School, the Royal Academy of Music, and the Manhattan School of Music. Her chamber music coaches have included Samuel Sanders, Margo Garrett, Leonid Hambro, and members of the Amadeus Quartet and the Guarneri Quartet. She is a current faculty member of the Juilliard Evening Division and Chair of Piano at the Brooklyn College Preparatory Center for the Performing Arts. We welcome Dr. White to the Historical Piano Concerts.