She grew up surrounded by music through her parents and her older siblings: Felicity, Josephine and Dominic Cooper.
Realising that Imogen had an exceptional musical talent her parents sent her at the age of 12 to Paris to study for six years at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique (CNSM) with Jacques Février, Yvonne Lefébure and Germaine Mounier.
This was considered a provocative move by the music establishment, and there was a lengthy correspondence in The Times between Thomas Armstrong, Principal of the Royal Academy of Music in London, and Martin Cooper, arguing the pros and cons of taking a gifted child out of conventional education to specialise so early, and in a foreign country.
She is particularly known for her interpretations of Schubert and Schumann, but she has also been involved in modern music, giving the premières of works such as Traced Overhead by Thomas Adès.
As well as performing as soloist she participates in chamber music and lieder, and has had a long-standing partnership with baritone Wolfgang Holzmair.