Imogen Cooper

Whether as a soloist or in collaboration with other musicians, the English pianist Imogen Cooper is admired for her sensitive interpretations of such Austro-German composers as Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Schumann, and French composers such as Fauré, Debussy and Ravel. Following her announcement in 2026 that after a 13-month farewell tour around Europe she would retire from performing, she was awarded Gramophone’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Born in London, 1949, she followed her father, the distinguished critic and musicologist Martin Cooper, in his taste for French and Classical Austrian repertoire. Recognising her talent, her parents sent her, aged 11, to audition for the legendary pianist and friend of Ravel and Poulenc, Jacques Février. Cooper was admitted to the Paris Conservatoire to study under Février and Yvonne Lefébure; six years later, she was awarded a Premier Prix de Piano. Shortly after her return to London, and after she had won the London Mozart Players’ Mozart Memorial Prize in 1969, Cooper heard Alfred Brendel playing Schubert. She persuaded Brendel to take her on as a pupil, studying with him in Vienna 1969 and 1970: his influence shaped Cooper’s lucid, structurally alert approach to the Viennese canon. Back in London, she made her first appearance at the BBC Proms in 1973, becoming a long-standing favourite at that festival. She has also made appearances around the world, performing with the London Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic and Boston Symphony. Cooper has made acclaimed recordings of Schubert’s Impromptus and late sonatas, Mozart concertos and Schumann’s piano works for Avie and Chandos; and her highly regarded Schubert song-cycle collaborations with baritone Wolfgang Holzmair have been released on Decca and Wigmore Hall Live. In chamber music she has partnered the Takács Quartet and violinist Henning Kraggerud, among others. She has also premiered several major new works, including Thomas Adès’ Traced Overhead (1996) and Deirdre Gribbin’s Decorated Skin (2003). Cooper has done much to support future artists, in 2015 establishing the Imogen Cooper Music Trust for gifted young musicians. In turn, she has been awarded several honours by her country, being appointed CBE in 2007 for services to music; then The Queen's Medal for Music in 2019, the first pianist to be so honoured; and, most recently, Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2021 Birthday Honours for services to music.