Barry Cooper (musicologist)

Born in Westcliff-on-Sea in Essex,[1] Cooper studied piano and composition in his childhood, leading to scholarships to Gordonstoun School and later to University College, Oxford,[1] where he studied organ with John Webster and earned an MA in 1973 and a DPhil in 1974.

Having extensively studied Beethoven's sketchbooks and written a book about them, Beethoven and the Creative Process, Cooper felt confident enough to identify the sketches for the individual movements of the Symphony and put together those for the first movement into a musically satisfactory whole.

[2] It was then revised and received its public premiere in 1988 by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Walter Weller.

He has also discovered rare 17th century French harpsichord music as well as one of the oldest canons now known.

As well as Beethoven's sketches, Cooper teaches courses in Western music history, editing, bibliography skills, and harmony and counterpoint.