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The Russian-born Belgian pianist, Irina Lankova, was born in a family of engineers and started playing piano in the age of 7. She was graduated with highest honours from Gnessin State Musical College in Moscow with Irina Temchenko, studying also with Lev Naumov and Vladimir Tropp. In 1996 she moved to Brussels to continue her studies at Royal Conservatory of Brussels with Evgeny Mogilevsky. At the end of her first year at the Conservatory she was awarded the ‘Premier Prix’ for Piano with the Highest Distinction and consecutively obtained Diplômes Supérieurs of Piano, Chamber Music, Music theory, Music pedagogy and studied Conducting. Furthermore she received personal musical guidance from Vladimir Ashkenazy.
After her succesful debut at Wigmore hall in 2008, Irina Lankova was invited to join the worldwide piano elite ‘Steinway Artists’. She is described by the international critics as a pianist with ‘genuinely poetic touch’ (The Independent) and ‘infinite palette of colours’(La Libre Belgique). She is distinguished by her poetic musicality, her grace, her natural and powerful playing and by her creativity. “I think it’s important to let the music flow naturally, to be present in each sound, and to trust your intuition. I don’t know where the Music comes from, but I can try to have a certain state of soul and technical abilities that would allow the Source to express itself.”
Irina Lankova performs in prestigious concert halls such as Wigmore Hall in London, Salle Gaveau in Paris, Flagey, Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel and La Monnaie in Brussels, Cidades das Artes in Rio and many others. She is invited to play in many international festivals: Piano Folies Touquet, Académie d'Été de Nice, Sagra Musicale Umbria, Schiermonnikoog Kamermuziekefestival, Brussels Summer Festival, Berlin Summer Festival etc.
Willing to bring more people to classical music, Irina Lankova develops a number of innovative projects. During her concerts ‘Piano Unveiled’, she speaks to her audience, drawing parallels between historical facts and evoking connections with other art forms. The concept meets a big success, also on the Internet in a form of short series. The artist’s official YouTube channel counts over two million views. In 2020, she develops a multimedia project ‘Goldberg Visions’ together with a video artist Isabelle Françaix, which brings film as a counterpoint to the timeless masterpiece of J.S. Bach.
Currently, Irina Lankova is preparing the release of her next solo album ‘Elegy’ which will come out in 2021. Her previous albums dedicated to Sergei Rachmaninov, Scriabin, Frédéric Chopin and Schubert are highly acclaimed by critics for their 'great sensitivity'(Pianiste), 'very personal narrative'(La Libre Belgique) and 'compelling authority'(The Independent).
Passionate by chamber music repertoire, Irina Lankova performs with many great artists including Tatiana Samouil, Frank Braley, Michael Guttman, Lorenzo Gatto, Michel Lethiec, Philippe Graffin and many others.
Irina Lankova gives master-classes, lectures on classical music and popularise it through various appearances and collaborations worldwide. She is a concert producer and the artistic director of Max Festival, international music festival in Belgium.
Irina Lankova is married to a Belgian architect and has two children (*2007 and *2009). She has a younger brother (*1985). She currently lives in Brussels, Belgium. |
