Composers
we have worked with
Edward Chilvers
Pianist-composer
Natalie performed one of his Etudes - you can watch and listen in our House of Pianos episode here Chilvers was a guest artist of PianoPlus 2024.
Hugh Shrapnel
Composer
The IDPE have a long-standing relationship with Shrapnel. In 2020 they released their first recording under the Convivium label with works for piano duet and in 2023 they followed up with a second release (works for solo piano and for two pianos). The Ensemble often programmes Hugh's pieces and performances include Steinway Hall, Bristol Cathedral, Morley College, Portsmouth Cathedral, BBC Radio 3, Charlton House etc. For more see: https://www.universaledition.com/en/Contacts/Hugh-Shrapnel/
Michael Chant
Chair, Cornelius Cardew Concerts Trust and composer
The IDPE took part in several concerts organised by the CCCT at venues such as Dulwich College Library, Cecil Sharp House, Morley College and have played numerous works for solo piano, piano duet, two piano, including piano and string ensemble formations by Michael Chant.
Hugh Benham
Composer
The IDPE have performed live numerous works for piano solo, two piano and piano duet by Benham, many written expressly and dedicated to them. There are two recordings to date on the Convivium label. The IDPE has programmed Hugh's pieces in venues such as Winchester Cathedral, Portsmouth Cathedral, Steinway Hall, etc. The audio samples for his scores on the United Music Publishing website have been recorded by the pianists of the IDPE (solo, piano duet, two piano). See: https://ump.co.uk/composer/hugh-benham/
Clive Osgood
Composer
Clive's delightful solo piano pieces were recorded by the IDPE pianists for the Convivium Records label. Selections were subsequently performed at the Steinway Hall and Athens Concert Hall launch events.
Nimrod Borenstein
Composer-conductor
The IDPE have commissioned Borenstein to write for them a concerto for strings and piano duet. SOMM records are planning on releasing it alongside Borenstein's Lullaby for piano duet. For more see House of Pianos new episode on YouTube (2026, release date TBA).
Julian Jacobson
Concert pianist, composer, editor
The IDPE performed his piano duet work in the 2024 edition of PianoPlus. Jacobson was also a guest artist in the same edition of PianoPlus. For more see: http://julianjacobson.com/
Elena Pavlea
Composer-pianist
The IDPE have performed works by Elena Pavlea at Athens Concert Hall (Megaron), Steinway Hall UK and at the PianoPlus Recital Series.For more visit: https://donemus.nl/composer/elena-pavlea/
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Michael Travlos
Composer-conductor
He started his musical studies at Athens National Conservatory in 1970 with Michalis Vourtsis. In 1975, he was accepted to the Hochschule der Künste Berlin, where he studied composition with Isang Yun until 1980, when he obtained his diploma in Music Composition. He lives in Piraeus as an independent composer and professor of theory and composition. He taught at the Hellenic Conservatory the Contemporary Conservatory (1987-1996) and at the "Nikos Skalkotas" Conservatory (1982-2014) where he was also the artistic director (1989-2014).
John Elved Lewis
Composer-pianist
John's pieces can be heard in the Elements of London release, alongside Hugh Shrapnel's works (Convivium Records, 2020). His infectious latin and jazz references and explosive colours have led the IDPE to programme his music often, including at their PianoPlus International Recital Series, Athens Concert Hall, Portsmouth Cathedral, Regent Hall, Charlton House, BBC Radio 3, Resonance FM etc.
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Lola Perrin
Composer-pianist
The IDPE has been working with Lola Perrin since 2011. Perrin has composed several works for the ensemble. Her work Let's Begin at the End was premiered at Southbank in the Women of the World Festival by the IDPE. She also recovered the manuscript to Helen E. Hagan's long lost piano concerto which she edited along with the duo. The fruit of these efforts can be heard as recorded by the Ivory Duo on Yale University's Yale Goes to War: Helen E. Hagan (YouTube documentary). More recently, the duo took part in the successful Guinness World of Records attempt at longest livestream of works by women composers (2024). The duo welcomes Lola in their 2026 edition of the PianoPlus series as a composer with a new work written for them and as adjudicator of a composition competition.
Larry Sitsky
Composer-pianist-musicologist
The IDPE pictured here at prof. Larry Sitsky's home after interviewing him on the pianism of his illustrious teacher, Egon Petri. The IDPE has recorded the extended version of Busoni's Fantasia Contrappuntistica with Sitsky's additions. Release TBA.
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Nikos Drelas
Composer
The IDPE has worked with Drelas on his two-piano works including as Artist-Teachers of The American College of Greece. For more info see: https://www.musica-ferrum.com/composer/nikos-drelas/#:~:text=Nikos%20Drelas%20was%20born%20in,at%20the%20Neo%20Odeio%20Conservatory.
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Elif Karlidag
Composer
The IDPE premiered Karlidag's Troposphere for two pianos at Morley College as part of the Cornelius Cardew Concerts Trust concerts for living composers. Find out more: https://elifkarlidag.com/
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Thomi Baltsavia
Composer and co-Artistic Director, Music Colours Conservatory, Athens
IThe composer was the first to write specifically for the IDPE a work for two pianos (Mystery). The work was premiered and recorded by the National Hellenic Radio 3 at Athenaeum and later received its UK premiere by the IDPE at Southbank's Women of the World Festival 2013.
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Morgan Hayes
Composer
Morgan Hayes studied at the Guildhall School of Music, where his teachers included Simon Bainbridge, Robert Saxton and Michael Finnissy. Since early recognition of his abundant composing and piano playing talent there he has made his home in central London, producing an impressive body of work while making a day-to-day living as a resourceful ballet pianist and teaching composition at the Royal Academy of Music. The IDPE interviewed him about his piano teacher, David Branson, at Steinway Hall. To see the interview: https://youtu.be/AHhB7GkafVc?si=j1y3Eksl32wD8wrB
To learn more about the composer: https://www.morganhayes.com/about/
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George Arthur
Composer
Arthur wrote his duet specifically for the IDPE' s release Rooted Time, which takes its name from a solo suite for piano, performed on the disc by Natalie. Subsequently, the pianists have performed his works at venues such as Portsmouth Cathedral and Athens Concert Hall.
Lesley Larkum
Composer/violinist/ Head of Strings, Dulwich College
The IDPE has performed Larkum's works in concert at Morley College, organised by the Cornelius Cardew Concerts Trust.
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Charlie Griffin
Composer
The IDPE performed a few of Griffin's composition in London venues shortly after their relocation from Greece. To find out more: https://charlesgriffin.net/
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Douglas Finch
Composer and concert pianist
Born on the Canadian Prairies, Finch first moved to London on an “informal sabbatical” after covering a leave for pianist Jane Coop at the University of British Columbia 1987-88. A graduate of New York City’s Juilliard School, where he studied with Beveridge Webster, he also credits Canadian pianist William Aide, with whom he studied at the University of Western Ontario, for being a sounding board and making astute musical suggestions about his opera score during its incubation phase.
In addition to his concertizing and compositional career, including garnering a Silver Medal at the Queen Elisabeth International Competition in Brussels in 1978, Finch has honed an internationally recognized career as a master improviser, reviving the centuries-old art form of spontaneously interweaving multiple themes into a single tapestry of sound.
The IDPE has performed several of his compositions and took part in the Blackheath Halls celebration concert for the composer's 50th.
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Dave Smith
Composer-pianist
Dave Smith was born in 1949 and read music at Magdalene College, Cambridge. During the 1970s, he was a member of the London-based Scratch Orchestra and various composer-performer ensembles (principally with John Lewis, Michael Parsons, Howard Skempton, John White, Gavin Bryars and Ben Mason) and later was a founder member of the English Gamelan Orchestra and Liria, the first English groups to specialise in, respectively, Javanese classical and Albanian folk musics. The IDPE often programmes his arrangements of Skalkotas' Greek Dances (originally for orchestra) and performances have included Steinway Hall, Blackheath Halls, Portsmouth Cathedral etc. Formore info, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Smith_(composer)