Russian Pianist Returns West to Reclaim Acclaim : Music: After 13 years of being barred from performing in the West, Vladimir Viardo makes his Southern California debut tonight in Costa Mesa.

It was 1975, and Russian pianist Vladimir Viardo was beginning to command international acclaim. Preliminary requirements had all been met: a gold medal in the 1973 Van Cliburn Competition at age 23, successful tours in Western Europe, the United States and Mexico. Then--without warning or explanation--Soviet authorities barred the way.

“I think it was just general policy,” Viardo said by phone Saturday from New York, where he has lived with his wife and two children for the past year. His English is confident, yet he apologized for occasionally awkward phrasings. “Except for a few, every musician went through this policy,” Viardo said. “I think they made it in order for you to obey. . . .

“They don’t appreciate the spiritual work (of an artist),” he said. “And then, we (musicians) don’t produce any materialistic goods, and for them materialistic goods are (all) important.”

Perhaps Viardo also had been a bit too outspoken. He had tried to organize a performers’ union. He had married a Jewish woman despite “friendly” advice from the minister of culture, who told him that “permission (to) work abroad” was considered a reward “for your good behavior.”

“Probably I didn’t behave well, in the sense which they would like to see. I didn’t make bribes (and) I didn’t obey with my opinions. . . . (There was) nothing particular, nothing criminal.”

As a result, he was not permitted to play in the West for 13 years, crucial years for the development of an emerging artist: “I call this period my exile because, for a musician, it is a really terrible thing to stay in one place and not move. We cannot learn 100 programs and play in one place; we need to learn one program and play in 100 places.”

With access to the Western world blocked, Viardo concentrated on expanding his repertory. He learned 11 Haydn concertos. He played all-Debussy programs, all-Soviet composer programs. He delved into chamber music. He recorded. And in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, Viardo earned an impressive reputation.

“For instance, Moscow University has a unique hall and lots of people would like to play there. Professors in Moscow Conservatory would play (there) once in two years. I would play up to 15 times . . . because conductors would know me and invite me.”

Now, with glasnost in full swing and with a two-year visa to reside in the United States in hand, Viardo has once again joined the international concert circuit. But the public’s memory is short, and Viardo’s reputation did not survive his absence.

“I thought I’d come here and I’d continue from the point where I left 13 years ago. I thought my musical circumstances would be the same. But I found that you have to fight from the beginning for your career. So I’m doing lots of things which I (don’t) like to do--meeting people, social stuff, all these parties, and trying to organize concerts. I am not the best (at) it.”

Nevertheless, the pianist--now 40 and the father of two boys--seems well on the way to professional recovery. Last season, Viardo performed in the United States, Moscow, Paris and Israel. This season, performances with the Cleveland Quartet and solo appearances with the Moscow Philharmonic during its North American tour highlight his busy schedule.

Viardo makes his Southern California debut tonight with a recital at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. The program includes Shostakovich’s Second Sonata, which Viardo recently recorded on the Nonesuch label, as well as works by Schubert, Liszt and Rachmaninoff. He enthusiastically described the Shostakovich as “the most beautiful piece in the world--on the level of the (Shostakovich) Eighth Symphony.”

Although not wishing to restrict himself to Russian music, Viardo does hope to introduce Western audiences to the music of many Russian composers who are unknown here, especially 20th-Century composers who disappeared during the Stalinist era. For the pianist is eager to establish himself not as a representative of a government but as the representative of a culturally rich land.

“Russians have a special nostalgia and love for their land,” Viardo said. “For me, Russian culture and Russian traditions of playing and Russian art mean a lot. I want to represent music. I want to represent Russian art but not a (political) country.”

Soviet pianist Vladimir Viardo will play works by Schubert, Liszt, Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich tonight at 8 at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. His recital is sponsored by the Orange Performing Philharmonic Society. Tickets: $8-$25. Information: (714) 646-6277.