The road to success is often paved with inspiration, hard work, and relentless dedication. This statement holds well for pretty much any professional, whether it is a doctor, sportsperson, or a musician. These are the factors that truly separate the best from the rest of the herd. World-renowned pianist, Vladimir Tiagunov, certainly falls in the bracket of these dedicated professionals who have reached the pinnacle of their career and conquered a lot along the way.
Tiagunov was born in 1989 in what is now the Temirtau city of Kazakhstan. He was introduced to the piano at a very young age by his father. An engineer by profession, Vladimir’s father was a piano enthusiast who knew how to play the instrument. He taught his son the fundamentals of playing the piano and later encouraged him to build on it further.
Like most kids who pick up skills when introduced to at an early age, Tiagunov too was receptive of this new craft. But more than merely pursuing it as a hobby, he found himself dedicating a good amount of time solely to music and mastering the craft. At the young age of six, Tiagunov was accepted at the Children’s Music School No. 5 in Nizhny Tagil, Russia and the rest is history.
Within four years of joining the music school, Vladimir gave his first solo piano performance. As he ventured into his teenage years, the young Russian found himself getting swayed by the sheer beauty of music and its ability to convey emotions. He eventually pursued it more vehemently by joining the Nizhny Tagil College of Arts for his pre-university courses. Vladimir later moved on to study at the world-famous Chelyabinsk State Academy of Culture and Arts (Russia), in the class of the prominent Russian musician Yevgeny Levitan.
Vladimir’s desire to continue exploring music didn’t end there. In 2013, he finished his master’s degree program and moved to the United States, where he attended the Artist Diploma program at the Long Island Conservatory of Music, New York.
On the back of such an impressive academic portfolio, it was only a matter of time before Vladimir scaled unfathomable heights in the music industry. He first rose to prominence in 2010, when he won the first prize in the International Music Competition – ‘21st Century Art’ in Kiev, Ukraine. To add to his excellent list of accomplishments, he won the Grand Prix in the 11th LISMA International Music Competition, New York, in 2015, and in the 2017 edition of the same, he was titled as the top performer. Most recently, Vladimir received the certificate of excellence from the Carnegie Hall for his dedication to the field of music education and his outstanding student achievement at the Forte International Music Competition.
Vladimir has performed as a solo artist and a chamber musician across most of Russia, Germany, Spain, Poland, Ukraine, and the United States, in some of the most revered concert venues in the world. In addition to professionally working as a musician, Vladimir teaches piano at the Long Island Conservatory where many of his students are laureates of piano competitions.
He is also the church musician at the Cure of Ars Church in Merrick, New York, where he performs regularly. To share his profound musical knowledge, Vladimir also serves as a jury member at many international music competitions.