She graduated fr om the Gnessin Moscow Special School of Music in 1993, in the class of V. V. Polunina.
In the same year, she entered the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music, joining the class of Professor L. B. Bulatova, Candidate of Art History. After graduating from the Academy with honors, she continued her postgraduate studies (assistantship-internship) at the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music under the guidance of L. B. Bulatova.
L. V. Pluzhnik is the recipient of the following awards:
- 1988 — Diploma at the 1st All-Union Competition of Pianists from Special Music Schools (Tbilisi);
- 1996 — 2nd Prize winner at the International Piano Competition (Athens, Greece);
- 2012 — Winner of the 4th Independent International Competition of Pianists and Opera Singers (Moscow);
- 2017 — Winner (2nd degree laureate) of the 9th International Competition of Musicians and Composers «Romanticism: Origins and Horizons»;
- 2017 — Winner of the 22nd International Festival-Competition «Musica Classica» (Ruza).
L. V. Pluzhnik has performed with various orchestras, including the Minsk State Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Y. Tsiryuk and the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra (conductor A. Vedernikov), wh ere she performed the premiere of A. A. Baltin’s Piano Concerto No. 3 at the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory.
She has given concerts in venues across Moscow, other Russian cities, and abroad, including Georgia, Lithuania, England, Italy, Greece, and Japan.
She began her teaching career at the Department of Special Piano in 2002 as an assistant in the class of her professor, L. B. Bulatova. She began her independent teaching practice in 2007.
To date, L. V. Pluzhnik has supervised approximately 40 graduates. Some of them have continued their education in the assistantship program at the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music. Many of her graduates are successfully working as teachers in music schools and colleges across Russia, as well as accompanists at higher music institutions, including the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music, GITIS, and others.
During her tenure at the Department of Special Piano, L. V. Pluzhnik has worked with international students from Greece, Malta, China, and Taiwan.
Many of her students have become prize-winners at international competitions:
- Zong Wen (China), 3rd Prize winner — 3rd International Competition «Contemporary Art and Education» (Moscow, 2008);
- Wang Ruijun (China), 3rd degree diploma recipient — 11th International Arts Olympiad (Moscow, 2011);
- Ella Vladimirovna Solovyova, 4th Degree Laureate — XII International Festival-Competition «Musica Classica» (Ruza, 2012), 2nd Prize Laureate — V Open All-Russian A. A. Alyabyev Performers’ Competition (Tobolsk, 2014);
- Elena Alexandrovna Skolyberdina, 4th Degree Laureate — IV Independent International Competition of Pianists and Opera Singers (Moscow, 2012);
- Elena Alexeevna Mikheeva, 1st Prize Laureate — XII International Festival-Competition «Musica Classica» (Ruza, 2016);
- Anastasia Andreevna Kozlova, 2nd Degree Diploma Winner — IX International Competition of Musicians and Composers «Romanticism: Origins and Horizons» (Moscow, 2017).
Graduates of L. V. Pluzhnik’s class have performed with orchestras in Moscow, Beijing, and Shanghai; they have participated in concerts in Moscow, other Russian cities, and abroad, including Germany, China, South Korea, and Malta. L. V. Pluzhnik has also conducted masterclasses in Moscow, Bryansk, Vladimir, Japan, and China.
L. V. Pluzhnik has chaired and served on the juries of children’s music competitions in various Russian cities:
- V Open Regional Kalinnikov Competition (Oryel, 2005);
- VIII International Competition of Musicians and Composers «Romanticism: Origins and Horizons» in memory of Elena Fabianovna Gnesina (Moscow, 2016);
- Chairperson of the annual City Open Competition for Young Pianists «Sounds of Spring» (Vladimir).
L. V. Pluzhnik participated in the film «The Best Universities in the World» about the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music, produced by Chinese filmmakers.
From 2008 to 2012, she served as the Chairperson of the State Examination Commission at the Bryansk Regional College of Music.
From 1997 to 2013, she worked as a concertmaster in the class of V. N. Levko, Head of the Academic Singing Department, Professor, soloist of the Bolshoi Theatre of the USSR, and People’s Artist of the RSFSR. During this time, she participated in numerous concerts of the vocal department.
As a concertmaster, she participated in and was awarded diplomas at the following competitions:
- 2004 — «Diploma for Concertmaster Excellence» at the II All-Russian «New Names» Competition (Khanty-Mansiysk);
- 2007, 2008 — «Best Concertmaster Diploma» at the I and II All-Russian Valentina Levko Vocalists’ Competitions (Moscow).
L. V. Pluzhnik is the author of the following works:
- Article: «The Role of Studying Masterclass Recordings by Masters of Piano Art in the Training and Education of Young Performers and Teachers», published in Music Teacher magazine, No. 3 / 2015 (30), Moscow: «Buki Vedi»;
- Educational and methodological manual «Genre of piano transcription in the special piano class», M.: Buki Vedi LLC, 2017.
