Taíssa Poliakova Cunha

Taíssa Poliakova Cunha is a Portuguese pianist of Russian heritage. She is a Piano Professor at the University of Évora, where she defended her PhD in Music and Musicology, passing with distinction and honors. She previously completed a Master's in Music at the University of Aveiro, where she received the Best Student Award for 2017, and a Bachelor's in Piano Performance at the Higher Conservatory of Music of Castilla y León, earning an Honourable Mention. As a soloist and chamber musician, Taíssa has received several awards, performed at prestigious national and international festivals - such as Festival Criasons III in Portugal, the "Dynasty" Music Festival in Kyiv (Ukraine), and the 39th Londrina Music Festival in Brazil - and appeared as a soloist with some of the most prestigious orchestras in Portugal, Brazil, and Ukraine, including the Orquestra do Norte, the Sinfonietta de Braga (Portugal), and the Symphony Orchestra of the State University of Londrina (Brazil). She maintains an active performing career, giving solo recitals and performing in a variety of eclectic contexts - from chamber music to opera and theatre. Her repertoire spans a wide range of styles, from Mozart to the twenty-first century, with a particular focus on late Russian Romantics, twentieth-century, and Portuguese music. In parallel, she is active as a researcher, having participated in national and international conferences, such as the 11th International Conference on Orthodox Church Music in Finland and the Contemporary Music Meeting at the Nova University of Lisbon. Beyond her performing and research activities, Taíssa has built a significant teaching career, with experience as a piano teacher and collaborative pianist at several institutions in Portugal. For two years, she also worked as a private piano tutor in Londrina (Brazil), teaching university students and successfully preparing them for entrance examinations for Master's courses, both in Brazil and abroad. Her discography includes projects dedicated to Portuguese music, namely Portuguese Tributes to Beethoven (2022) and Trio de Damas (2024) - the latter was nominated for Best Classical/Erudite Music Album at the 2024 Play Awards in Portugal.