Andrei Gavrilov was born in Moscow in 1955. At che age of 18 he won first prize at the Tchaikovsky Competition and, that same year, made his triumphant debut at the Salzburg Fescival, where he replaced Sviatoslav Richter. Since that time he has enjoyed an international career performing with the world's grearest orchestras and conductors. He made his London debut in 1976 with Simon Raccle and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and, two years later, performed with the Berlin Philharmonic, followed by a tour of 30 concerts throughout Western Europe. By 1980 he had performed in all the world's major cultural centres. There then followed a politically enforced absence from Western concert halls, until 1984 when he made a triumphant return to the concert platform of the Queen Elizabeth Hall, followed by recitals at the Royal Festival and Barbican halls.
Andrei Gavrilov made his recital debut in New York's Carnegie Hall in 1985, when he was proclaimed a 'major artist' by the New York Times. He has since performed with the leading orchestras of New York, London, Paris, Berlin, Munich, Amsterdam, Chicago, Vienna, Philadelphia, Montreal and Tokyo, with conductors who have included Claudio Abbado, Bernard Haitink, Riccardo Muti, Seiji Ozawa, Yevgeny Sveclanov and Klaus Tennstedt.
From 1976 uutil 1990 Andrei Gavrilov enjoyed an exclusive recording contracc with EMI for whom his numerous recordings include the Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov Second and Third concertos with Muti, a duo recording with Gidon Kremer of works by Schnittke and Shostakovich, and discs of solo works by Bach, Mozart, Schumann, Chopin, Rachmaninov, Scriabin and Prokofiev. He has been awarded a number of international prizes for his recordings including a Gramophone Award (1979), Deutscher Schallplattenpreis (1981), Grand Prix du Disque de l'Academie Charles Cros (1985-86), the International Record Critics' Award (1985), the prestigious Premio Internazionale Academia Musicale Chigiana, Siena -where he was proclaimed best pianist of the world - (1989) and the Gold Record Achievement Award (1994). His first recordings for Deutsche Grammophon in 1992, of Prokoflev sonatas and works by Chopin, met with international critical acclaim and subsequent DG recordings include the complete Schubert Impromptus and Bach's Goldberg Variations; due for release are Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet and works by Benjamin Britten. He has also recorded works for two pianos by Stravinsky, together with Vladimir Ashkenazy, which is to be released shortly by Decca.
