Although pianist Vladimir Viardo represents the "Russian School," he clearly is not a typical Russian musician--a fact recognized even in his homeland. Irina Naumova, wife of the legendary pedagogue, taught Viardo at Gnessin College until her husband accepted him in the Moscow Conservatory where he remained as a student for six years. During this time, he was tenured as a soloist by Moscow Philharmonia (the primary music organization of the USSR). After obtaining a doctorate, he was immediately engaged as assistant professor with Naumov at the Conservatory, where he is associated to this day. Viardo carried off the top prize in the Fourth Quadrennial Van Cliburn International Piano Competition at age 23 and had already launched an impressive global career when his travel visa was mysteriously revoked. For nearly thirteen years, Viardo was a virtual prisoner of the Iron Curtain. During this closed period, he developed new horizons in his artistic achievements, vastly enlarging his repertoire, eventually including 37 concertos. Just as mysteriously, when the new era of Glasnost and Perestroika began opening the doors of the then Soviet Union, Viardo was permitted to accept engagements in Germany and in the United States.
He joined the University of North Texas College of Music faculty as artist-in residence in 1989. An extraordinary and celebrated teacher, his international roster of students includes young artists 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 and his name appears in the book The Most Wanted Piano Teachers in the USA.
Since returning to the West where his international career resumed with several concerts at Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln and Kennedy Centers, Salle Pleyel and the Concertgebouw, Viardo's tours have taken him to leading American, Canadian and European cities, Asia and South Africa as well as to Israel, Central and South America, appearing as soloist with most of the important conductors on the world scene. He has made numerous recordings for Melodiya in Russia and Pro Arte and Nonesuch in the United States.
|