Lunchtime Recital - Helen Langley (viola) and Irina Lyakhovskaya (piano)

Programme

Rebecca Clarke (1886–1979) Impetuoso, from Sonata for Viola and Piano (1919)

Caroline Shaw (1982 – ) In Manus Tuas (2009)

Ernest Bloch (1880-1959) Suite for Viola and Piano (1919)

I. Lento

II. Allegro ironico

III. Lento

IV. Molto vivo

Biographies

Violist Helen Langley was the 2024-2025 South Square Trust music scholar at Trinity Laban conservatoire, where she studied with Milena Simovic and Stephen Upshaw, and obtained a Professional Diploma with Distinction.

Helen has performed as a recording artist for film and music projects, including an award-winning short film starring actor Thomas Brodie-Sangster. She has recently recorded at Abbey Road Studios for a new project with Academy Award-winning composer AR Rahman, for which she also featured in the music video.

Helen’s performing credits include solo appearances with the Portobello Orchestra and Ripley Symphony Orchestra, as well as chamber performances at London’s Polish Hearth Club, the Faversham Classical Coffee Concerts series and a concert tour of West Sussex in 2025.

Helen has performed in masterclasses with renowned violists Eivind Ringstad and Matthew Jones, and with chamber pianist James Baillieu. She has also worked with top orchestral musicians during “Side-By-Side” training schemes with the Welsh National Opera, London Mozart Players and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.

Alongside her musical work, Helen has a PhD in neuroscience and has a special interest in projects that promote interdisciplinary collaborations, having worked to develop links between the scientific and artistic worlds. She is a recipient of the 2026 Mercer’s Arts Award at Trinity Laban for her interactive workshop and public events series, Neuromusic, which brings scientific research to a wider audience through music.

Irina Lyakhovskaya is a highly regarded pianist, performing as a soloist, chamber musician and accompanist. She has given many performances at leading international venues and at concert clubs and festivals across the UK. From 2016 – 2020 she was Artist in Residence at Eastbourne Arts Centre where she performed the complete Beethoven piano sonatas.

As an active chamber musician, Irina performs regularly in recitals with many renowned performers. She has also recorded the complete Mozart sonatas with violinist Eleanor Percy for the Melodiya label as well as sonatas by Brahms and Prokofiev for the IMLab label. She is also a member of the City Soloists Ensemble and the Libre Piano Trio.

As a concerto soloist, she has performed works by Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann, Grieg, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Scriabin and Rachmaninov. She lives in London and is a faculty member at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.