Denis Zhdanov is a Ukrainian concert pianist, music teacher, blogger, and entrepreneur, currently based in Austria. Through his online school he has taught thousands of piano students worldwide, and his YouTube channel has reached more than 5 million views, making him one of the most visible advocates for artistic, technically efficient, and imaginative piano playing on the internet.

Denis Zhdanov’s repertoire comprises about 30 concertos along with a broad range of solo and chamber music. Highlights of recent concert seasons include solo performances with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, the Poznan Amadeus Chamber Orchestra, the Festival Strings Lucerne, the Camerata Lucerne, and the Lodz Philharmonic in Poland. Denis is also active as a soloist and chamber musician, and in 2022 premiered his film, combining piano performance, videography, and animation.

His academic teaching experience is equally distinguished. In 2020 he worked as assistant professor to Konstantin Lifschitz at Hochschule Luzern-Musik in Switzerland. In 2021 he taught piano at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, where three of his six students won prizes at international competitions. In 2024 he returned as a substitute professor, teaching Bachelor’s and Master’s students, and in 2025 he holds a senior lecturer position at the same university, working with gifted pre-bachelor students. His deep expertise in both stylistic interpretation and the physiology of piano technique allows him to work effectively with a wide range of students, both in person and online.

Denis studied piano professionally in Ukraine, Italy, the UK, and Switzerland with leading teachers such as Valentina Danilova, Tatiana Abayeva, Boris Fedorov, Leonid Margarius, Graham Scott, Eliso Virsaladze, and Konstantin Lifschitz, and has attended numerous master-courses by prominent musicians such as D. Alexeev, M. Pressler, K.-H. Kämmerling, K. Hellwig, and others.

He began his musical education in Chernihiv, Ukraine, where after just one year of training he became the youngest participant to win first prize at a regional competition. At the age of 16 he won 4th prize and the special prize for best classical sonata performance at the Tbilisi International Piano Competition, competing against pianists up to 30 years old.

Among his most important competition successes are:

Competition "Maria Canals" in Barcelona, 2010 (1st prize and 3 special prizes),
Competition "Roma 2009: Chopin Prize" (1st prize),
Competition in Poznan, Poland, 2011 (1st prize),
Competition “Mai Lind” in Helsinki, Finland, 2012 (2nd prize),

Since then Denis has performed across Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Poland, Estonia, China, and other countries.

Denis recorded a CD with works by F. Chopin for the international A. Rubinstein Foundation (Poland, 2010), as well as a CD with piano sonatas by A. Soler for "Naxos" (Spain, 2011). For 2025, plans include new digital releases showcasing both his solo artistry and chamber collaborations.