Born in Kharkiv, Ukrainian SSR (present-day Ukraine), Soyfer spent his childhood in Tashkent before moving to Moscow.

[1] From 1984 to 1989, Soyfer studied composition at the Moscow Conservatory under Edison Denisov, Nikolai Sidelnikov, and Yuri Kholopov.

A student of Alban Berg and Anton Webern, Herschkowitz had a profound influence on Soyfer, who dedicated his work to continuing the traditions of the Second Viennese School.

[1][2][3] From 1989 to 1996, Soyfer also attended lectures as a non-degree student in the philosophy and philology faculties at Moscow State University.

[16] On April 20, 2015, the Azerbaijan State Symphonic Orchestra performed Soyfer’s “Canción con movimiento” at the Qara Qarayev Music Festival.

[17][18] Additionally, in December 2016, Soyfer's "reconstruction" of Mozart's concerto for four wind soloists and orchestra was performed at the Moscow Conservatory.

"[21]Notable pupils of Soyfer include violinist Alina Ibragimova, composer Gianca Liano, cellist Marco Gutierrez, and pianists Giuseppe Gil, César Salazar, and Rodrigo Picado.

[23] According to Rachel Torpusman, the book’s publisher, Jacob’s Ladder is "not a religious book" but rather "an essay about culture and civilization – and about falling out of them; some parodic retellings of biblical and ancient Greek verses; some very deep reflections on Chinese philosophy, on Shakespeare and Lorca, on politics and history of the past and the present…" Soyfer's translations encompassed a wide array of literary works: In his later years, Soyfer began studying Chinese and translated poems and philosophical texts by various ancient Chinese poets and philosophers, including Confucius, Laozi, Mencius, Sun Tzu, Du Fu, Li Bai, Li Yu, Wang Wei and Pei Di.

In 2022, Gianca Liano, one of Vladislav Soyfer's former students, composed a tombeau titled Orilla ("The shore") in his memory.