Vladimir Viardo is a Russian Soviet pianist and Honored Artist of Russia, born in 1949 in Krasnaya Polyana in the Caucasus.
He graduated from the Gnessin Musical College and the Moscow Conservatory, where he studied in the class of Lev Naumov. While still a student, in 1971 he won third prize at the Marguerite Long and Jacques Thibaud Competition in Paris.
In 1973 he won the Van Cliburn Competition, which became a major milestone in his career. In 1988 he emigrated to the United States.
Viardo has continued an active touring career and has taught at the University of North Texas. He has also organized piano competitions in New York and the International Competition of Young Pianists in Zaporizhzhia.