David Cooper, DSO Principal Horn, to Leave for Berlin Philharmonic
/DALLAS MORNING NEWS
11/15/2017
David Cooper, principal horn of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra since 2013, has won one of the most prestigious orchestra posts in the world: principal horn of the Berlin Philharmonic. He'll take the job in September 2017.
The Berlin orchestra is one of the world's most famous, touring and recording extensively — and, in more recent years, streaming concerts over the internet. Simon Rattle will remain as the orchestra's chief conductor until 2018; in 2019 he'll be succeeded by Kirill Petrenko.
The move will be a huge loss for the DSO, which Cooper initially joined in 2011 as third horn after serving as associate principal horn of the Fort Worth Symphony. He won the principal chair in the National Symphony in Washington, D.C., in 2013, but elected to stay with the DSO and assume the first chair here. A third-generation horn player in his family, he was trained at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.
A player of satin-finished tone, astonishing breath control and elegant expression, Cooper has led the DSO horn section to new heights. They can be heard in all their glory on the DSO's latest recording, of the Mahler Third Symphony.
Cooper is the second DSO principal recently tapped by top-tier orchestras. Former principal flute Demarre McGill left at the end of last season for the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. And, of course, DSO music director Jaap van Zweden is to move to the same post with the New York Philharmonic in September 2018.
This article originally appeared on 12/16/2017 Dallas Morning News.