Vladimir Viardo, an acclaimed Russian pianist whose global career was halted during the Soviet era, will meet with students from the University of Rochester in master class-style coaching sessions that can be observed by the public.
Students from the College of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering and from the Eastman School of Music will work with Viardo starting at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 2, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 3, in lower Strong Auditorium on the River Campus. Student participants were selected by their teachers.
Viardo received his doctorate from the Moscow Conservatory and was tenured as a soloist by the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1971, he was awarded the Grand Prix and the Prix du Prince Rainier in the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud Competition of Paris. Two years later, he won the top prize at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and subsequently received more than 70 contracts for appearances throughout the United States.
However, Viardo’s travel visa was revoked and for 13 years he worked solely behind the Iron Curtain. With loosening restrictions made possible by “Glasnost” and “Perestroika” in the Soviet Union, Viardo was allowed to accept engagements abroad.
Viardo’s tours have taken him to leading North American and European cities as well as to Asia, South Africa, Israel, and Central and South America. He is on the faculty of the University of North Texas College of Music as artist-in-residence and is highly sought after for his master classes, concerts, and recordings.
Viardo’s visit was arranged by Zora Mihailovich, an internationally renowned pianist who is artist-in-residence in the Department of Music at the College. For more information, contact the music department at (585) 275-2828.