Accordionist Lore Amenabar Larrañaga is a London-based performer whose work spans classical, contemporary, and microtonal music. She is particularly known for her work on the Quarter-Tone Accordion, a self-designed instrument at the centre of her artistic and research practice, and for her commitment to collaboration as a primary mode of music-making.

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Lore completed both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees with first-class honours at the Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki, studying with Prof Matti Rantanen, Dr Mika Väyrynen, and Dr Veli Kujala. During this time, she focused on a deep engagement with the 'mother tongue' of the classical accordion by working extensively with repertoire originally written for the instrument. Alongside this, she immersed herself in the art of transcription, performing works primarily drawn from the harpsichord and organ repertoire, as well as selected pieces originally written for piano.

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In 2023, she completed a PhD at the Royal Academy of Music in London, supported by La Caixa Foundation. Her doctoral research explored the artistic identity of the Quarter-Tone Accordion through a practice-led approach, using collaboration with artists as a central research method. Through this process, newly commissioned works functioned both as artistic outputs and as tools for investigating the instrument’s technical, aesthetic, and expressive possibilities.

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Since giving her first premiere in 2017 — Finnish Suite by Matti Murto — Lore has premiered around fifty new works, significantly expanding the contemporary accordion repertoire. She has collaborated with artists including Claudia Molitor, Michael Finnissy, Mioko Yokoyama, Christopher Fox, Electra Perivolaris, Howard Skempton, Emily Koh, James Batty, Zhenyan Li, Huihui Cheng, Dominic Flynn, Océane Deweirder, Ben Lunn, Loré Lixemberg, and Joe Gusmano, among others, many of whom have written specifically for her Quarter-Tone Accordion.

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Lore is a member of Vortex Ensemble, a Europe-wide microtonal ensemble dedicated to close collaboration with composers working in alternative tuning systems.

 

In 2023, she released her debut solo album ISPILU (Basque for mirror), featuring eight works for Quarter-Tone Accordion and documenting the artistic outcomes of her doctoral research.

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A prize-winner of the Arrasate-Hiria International Accordion Competition and Juventudes Musicales de España, Lore has performed widely across Europe and the United States, including appearances in Spain, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Switzerland, Poland, Finland, and the USA. Recent festival appearances include the Deal Music and Arts Festival (UK), the Hyperchromatic Music Festival (UK), and Welcome In – A Musical Path at the Akademie der Künste, Berlin (Germany).

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Alongside her performing career, Lore is actively involved in music education and research. She works as an Academic Music Teacher at the Yehudi Menuhin School, teaching music theory, history, analysis, aural skills, and research skills. She also gives masterclasses, presents concert-lectures and conference papers, and regularly serves as an adjudicator at music competitions.

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Through her dual focus on performance and research, Lore Amenabar Larrañaga has established a distinctive artistic voice, positioning the accordion — and particularly the Quarter-Tone Accordion — as a vital instrument for contemporary musical thought, collaboration, and innovation.