Russian born Austrian-Croatian violist and conductor Wladimir Kossjanenko studied viola from 1986 to 1991 with Vladimir Stopitchev at Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory in St. Petersburg. Whilst studying he appeared as a principal violist and assistant-conductor of the “Ensemble of Leningrad Soloists”. In 1991, following an invitation from the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra directed by Claudio Abbado, he came to Vienna. He continued his studies with Hans Peter Ochsenhofer and Thomas Kakuska at the Vienna University for Music and Performing Arts (graduated 1999 with summa cum laude and Master of Arts degree) and later with Michael Kugel at the Royal Conservatory in Ghent, Belgium. Important artistic experience he gained in the master classes with Issac Stern, Norbert Brainin (Amadeus Quartet), Walter Levin (LaSalle Quartet), Gunter Pichler (Alban Berg Quartet), Milan Škampa (Smetana Quartet), Joel Krossnick (Julliard Quartet). Between 1993 and 1996 he was a regular substitute with Vienna Philharmonic. From 1994 to 1998 he was a principal violist of the Graz Philharmonic Orchestra and Graz Opera House. From 1998 to 2007 Wladimir Kossjanenko was a member of the Hugo Wolf Quartet. 1999 he was awarded the European Cultural Prize for Chamber music in Paris in 1999 and the “Pasticcio” Prize of the Austrian Radio in 2003. With the Hugo Wolf Quartet he made extended concert tours throughout Europe, North and South America, United Kingdom, Ireland, Korea and Japan. He made numerous recordings for Atlantis Art, Gramola, Extraplatte, Cam Jaz New York, Lumaudis, as well as for “Unitel Classic” Berlin, BBC 3, Deutschland Radio Berlin, SWR, Radio Suisse Romand, NHK, HRT, TV Ireland, KBS Korea, Radio France Paris, ORF Austria, RAI Italy, Minnesota Public Radio etc.

In the past 25 years Wladimir Kossjanenko gave more than 600 concerts around the world as a soloist and chamber musician with Bruno Canino, Michael Kugel, Filippo Gamba, Gerard Caussé, Nicolas Angelich, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Mario Hossen, Paul Meyer at most prestigious concert venues like Carnegie Hall New York, Suntory Hall Tokyo, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Tonhalle Zürich, Konzerthaus Lucerne, Royal Albert & Wigmore Hall London, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Berliner & Kölner Philharmonie, Cité de la Musique Paris, Palais des Beaux-Arts Bruxelles, Tchaikovsky Conservatory Moscow etc. He appeared as a soloist with Bayerische Kammerphilharmonie, Zagreb Soloists, Jerusalem Festival Orchestra, Les Orpheistes Orchestra Sofia, Capella Lutherana Vienna, Arthur Rubinstein Philharmonic Orchestra, Zadar Chamber Orchestra, The Virtuosos of Split, Vienna Academic Symphony Orchestr etc. As a conductor he has appeared in Austria, Germany, Bulgaria and Croatia. Wladimir is invited as a principal viola player to many european orchestas such as Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg, Symphonisches Orchester Liechtenstein, Opera Royal de Liege, Graz Symphony orchestra, Sarajevo Philharmonic. 

Wladimir gave more than 50 master-classes for viola among others at Guildhall School of Music London, Royal Conservatory Bruxelles, Royal Conservatory Maastricht, University of Sapporo, Music Academy Budapest, University of St. Andrew, International Orpheus Academy Vienna, Rencontres Musicales Internationales des Graves, Thessaloniki State Conservatory, Academy of Music Ljubljana, New Bulgarian University Sofia, Music Academy Sarajevo. He was a Jury-member of the Watson Forbes International Viola Competition in St Andrews, Iosif Kogan International String Competition in Almaty, International Rudolf Matz Competition in Dubrovnik,  Boris Papandopulo Competition in Zagreb. Since 2008 he has been professor for viola and chamber music at the Academy of Arts at the University of Split/Croatia as well as a guest professor for chamber music at the Music Academy Zagreb and professor for viola at the Music Academy Sarajevo. 2012 he founded together with the pianist Vesna Podrug a festival “Days of Bach in Split” as well as a string orchestra “The Virtuosos of Split” and become its conductor and artistic director.