Väinö Viljanen (b. 2008) began playing the piano at the age of 7 under the guidance of his grandfather, Pekka Viljanen. After a year of practice, he was accepted into the Turku Conservatory as a student of Marko Autio. His studies later continued under Maria Männikkö. Currently, Väinö is taught by both Männikkö and Roope Gröndahl. Väinö has participated in numerous piano masterclasses with teachers such as Matti Raekallio, Henri Sigfridsson, and Jean-Efflam Bavouzet. Väinö began studying at the Youth Piano Academy Finland in the spring 2023.
Väinö has been awarded at the PianoAura competition in 2019 and 2023. He also participated in the Canadian Young Pianist Festival in 2021, the Madetoja Piano Competition in 2022, and the Tapiola Competition in 2023. Väinö was awarded a gold medal at the Northern Lights Piano Competition in 2024. In the year 2025 he won the XIII national Leevi Madetoja Piano Competition in his own age group. He has performed in Finland, as well as in Estonia and the USA, in Maine, in connection with the Hanna Powell Memorial Piano Competition. He also performed as a soloist with the Aura-Symphony in the spring of 2024.
Väinö has completed his basic music studies at the Turku Conservatory. In the fall of 2024, he began a vocational qualification in music at the Turku Conservatory alongside his high school studies.
(Photo © Ville Lehvonen)