Pianist Timothy Cooper Looks to the sky for Inspiration

Pianist Timothy Cooper has a new album out that finds inspiration from the skies, entitled Global Skies. Cooper served as executive director of World Rights, a non-governmental organization specializing in human rights and environmental issues. In 2016, he published a major article in the Global Policy Journal about a new strategy for achieving a lasting Palestinian-Israeli peace. The album is a collection of nine original tracks that offers a triumphant sound of emotional fury and pure sonic beauty

About the Album

The nine tracks on the album explore different emotions and piano colors, from driving figures to light emotional melodies, Global Skies has it. The sound quality is good, and the piano sounds warm and the acoustics are natural. Cooper’s compositions have a lot of development and thought put into them, themes are developed with variations and counter melodies throughout the form. Cooper describes the album, “Global Skies is about perspectives shifting, just as skies are ever-changing. I have hope that in time people’s openness to whole new sets of perspectives will give them the grace to accept the views of all those who stand under different skies.”

Favorite Song

“Singapore Sunrise” was our favorite track on the album. Starting with the sound of nature, specifically distant thunder, wind and rain sounds, before the piano enters and the musical journey begins. Gently, Cooper develops an ostinato figure into a theme and melodic statement. His touch on the piano is gentle, but authoritative. The theme has rhythmic cross currents that slightly fight the flow, but then relax into the steady pulse. Cooper also breathes at the end of phrases towards the end of the piece. Phrasing like a classical pianist, pushing and pulling the phrases to shape them with breath and give them life.

In Conclusion

Cooper is a master pianist that creates music that is thoughtful, evolving, and full of passion and heart. The recording makes use of dynamics, which is a nice touch, especially since this is a solo piano release. One of the great things about Global Skies, is that you have a sound track that will enlighten you mood, even on a busy day, you’ll constantly find yourself being soothed by the steady rhythms and colors, informing Cooper’s distinctive piano playing.