Vladimir
Viardo was born in the Caucasus Mountains near the Black Sea. He studied in
Moscow Conservatory with Lev Naumov (custodian of the Heinrich Neuhaus methods
that are credited with producing the extraordinary strain of twentieth-century
Russian keyboard masters such as Gilels and Richter).
At the age of
twenty-one, he won a "Grand Prix" and the "Prix du Prince
Rainier" in the 1971 Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud Competition in Paris.
Two years later, Viardo carried off the top prize in the Fourth Quadrennial Van
Cliburn International Piano Competition. When the new era of
"Glasnost" and "Perestroika" began opening the doors of the
then Soviet Union, Mr. Viardo was permitted to accept engagements in Germany
and in the United States. He was immediately offered a tour and recording
contract with the Dallas Symphony and a position as Artist-in-Residence in
prestigious music department of the University of North Texas, the world's
largest instrumental school. There today, to continue his pedagogic traditions,
Mr. Viardo has established the Viardo Fellows Foundation, committed to
providing the highest quality musical artist training. An extraordinary and
celebrated teacher, his international roster of students includes several from
Eastern Europe, as well as Spain, Mexico, South Africa and the United States.
Viardo's master-classes are much in demand throughout the world.
He has made
numerous recordings for Melodiya in Russia and Pro Arte and Nonesuch in the
United States. Recent recordings include Lutosiawski with the Polish National
Radio Orchestra and a Sony release to honor Penderecki's sixtieth birthday,
featuring Rampal and Rostropovich as well. Intersound re-released his
performance o[ Rachmaninoff's Third Concerto with Mata and the Dallas Symphony
in 1997. Viardo performed a series of rarely heard Russian piano literature at
Lincoln Center. The 1998/99 seasons include appearances in Germany, France,
Portugal, Russia, Brazil, Poland, Canada and the United States. As a pedagogue,
Vladimir Viardo has accepted a position of a Professor at the Moscow
Conservatory where he will teach several sessions a year.