LINA TARGONSKY, called a “powerhouse chamber pianist with whom the Southland is blessed” by the Los Angeles Times, began her piano studies at the age of six at Moscow’s Special School for exceptionally gifted children and graduated from the famed Gnessin Music Academy in Moscow, where she studied with the eminent Russian teacher Jacob Milstein. After graduation she joined the faculty of Moscow’s internationally acclaimed Tchaikovsky Conservatory, where she worked for 13 years.

Targonsky has performed extensively in Russia and, since her emigration to the West in 1978, she and her husband, Philharmonic Assistant Concertmaster Mark Baranov, have appeared together frequently in chamber music recitals. As a member of Trio West, she has performed throughout Southern California, including on board the Queen Elizabeth II, and she was in residence at the Festival Bahnhof Rolandseck in Germany. Targonsky has also performed numerous times with famed American cellist Bernard Greenhouse. She regularly participates in the Philharmonic Chamber Music Society and has been a soloist with various orchestras.

She collaborates with leading Russian baritone Leonid Smetannikov, with whom she performs extensively throughout the U.S. and Russia. Targonsky is a member of the music faculty at Biola University.