Pianist Andrey Gugnin has succeeded in both Britain and the U.S., as well as in his native Russia, recording for the Hyperion and Steinway & Sons labels. He has won awards both as a solo pianist and playing chamber music. Gugnin was born in Moscow, then in the Soviet Union, on May 3, 1987. His father and one brother were mathematicians, and he showed some enthusiasm for that field, but his first piano teacher, Natalia Smirnova, recognized his talent. Gugnin attended the Moscow Conservatory, studying with Vera Gornostayeva and graduating in 2010. Even before graduating, Gugnin was in demand as a recording artist, releasing an album of Shostakovich piano concertos as an 18-year-old in 2007 with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra on the Delos label. He went on for further studies at the Lake Como International Piano Academy in Switzerland. In the mid-2010s, Gugnin was a reliable prizewinner at the top levels of international piano competitions. At the 2013 Beethoven International Piano Competition in Vienna, he took home second prize, followed by top prizes at the 2014 International Gina Bachauer Piano Competition and the 2016 Sydney International Piano Competition, where he swept the best overall concerto, best 19th or 20th century concerto, and best violin-and-piano sonata, among other awards. By that time, Gugnin was earning major concert bookings both in Russia and abroad. He has performed with the Mariinsky Symphony Orchestra in St. Petersburg under Valery Gergiev, as well as with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Utah Symphony. He is noted as a duo pianist, performing with Vadym Kholodenko, and as a chamber player with violinist Tasmin Little, the Israel Camerata Jerusalem, and Camerata Salzburg, among other musicians. Gugnin recorded the album Pictures, featuring music by Ibert and Mussorgsky, for Steinway & Sons in 2016, moving to Piano Classics in 2018 for an album of Liszt's Transcendental Etudes in 2018, and to Hyperion for a recording of Shostakovich's 24 Preludes and two piano sonatas the following year. Gugnin remained active during the COVID-19 pandemic, touring Russia as conditions permitted and releasing an album of Scriabin mazurkas on Hyperion in 2022. He has declared his opposition to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, citing his own Ukrainian ancestry. In 2024, Gugnin released an album of Grieg's piano works on Hyperion. ~ James Manheim, Rovi