Join us for a delightful afternoon of Russian piano music as part of the UK - Russia Year of Music 2019. The programme will include the gorgeous Sonata No. 2 by Rachmaninov and the lyrical and mysterious Sonata No. 9 by Prokofiev as well as several works for piano duo: the Valse from the Cinderella Suite, Sviridov's beautiful Valse from the Snowstorm Suite, Khachatutyan's Valse from the Masquerade Suite and other works.

Yulia Chaplina and Jonathan Deakin are a well-established piano British Duo and have been playing together for nearly a decade. The duo is known for its fresh approach to classical music concerts, combining carefully curated classical and contemporary programmes with narration about the works in the programme. They are passionate about promoting new British composers and have performed several specially commissioned pieces including the world premiere of Three Caprices by Phil Watson.

Highlights of the 2017 - 2018 season included piano duo recitals in the UK, Germany, France and Italy. In August 2019 the duo makes their Russian debut at the Rachmaninov Hall of the Moscow's Conservartoire in addition to performances in the UK, France and Germany.

Yulia Chaplina won First Prize and the Gold Medal in the prestigious Tchaikovsky International Competition for Junior Musicians in 2004, going on to perform regularly as a soloist in many of the world's finest venues, including Wigmore Hall in London, Berlin’s Philharmonie, the Grand Halls of the Moscow Conservatory and the St. Petersburg Philharmonia, Bunka Kaikan Hall in Tokyo and many other prestigious concert halls. Her solo CD of Russian Music was recorded by Champs Hill Records in the UK in May 2014. The American Record Guide described this as "....an outstanding disc and one I’ll return to often." Yulia holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Arts in Berlin as well as a Masters in Music and Fellowship from the Royal College of Music.

Jonathan Deakin was awarded a major scholarship to study with David Strange and Colin Carr at the Royal Academy of Music, graduating with distinction, and the DipRAM award. He completed his studies in Berlin with Hans-Jakob Eschenburg. Recent performances have included chamber music recitals at the Wigmore Hall, the Holywell Music Room, Oxford, St. James's, Piccadilly and on BBC Radio 3 as well as in Amsterdam, Berlin and Vienna. As a founding member of the London-based chamber orchestra, Aurora Orchestra, he has appeared at the Aldeburgh Festival, the Al-Bustan Festival in Beirut, Lebanon and with Sir Thomas Allen and Malcolm Martineau at the Wigmore Hall as well at the BBC Proms.