Andrei Gavrilov (in Russian ÃÂýôÃÂõù ÃÂðòÃÂøûþò; born September 21, 1955) is a Russian-Swiss pianist.
Andrei Gavrilov was born in Moscow. His father was Vladimir Gavrilov, a Russian painter, through whom Gavrilov also has German ancestors. His mother was the Armenian pianist Assanetta Eguiserian; she gave Gavrilov his first piano lessons at age 2.
In 1961, he was inducted to the Moscow Central Music School and became a student of Tatyana Kestner. He completed his studies with Lev Naumov at the Moscow Conservatory. By the age of 18, after one semester at the conservatory, he won the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1974, where Melodiya recorded Tchaikovsky's first piano concerto at the prize winner's concert together with a live solo recital. He rose to international fame when, at the Salzburg Festival the same year, he substituted for Sviatoslav Richter. In 1976, a studio recording of Rachmaninoff's third concerto followed. Gavrilov performed in many major music centers of the world, performing up to 90 concerts a year while continuing his studies at the university until 1979.
In 1979, Herbert von Karajan, who had heard him play Tchaikovsky's First Concerto in Berlin, offered to work with him on recordings of all the Rachmaninoff piano concertos. In December 1979, recording sessions were scheduled with the Berlin Philharmonic for the second concerto, but Gavrilov did not appear for the rehearsals. Due to his critical remarks about the Soviet government, the head of the KGB Yuri Andropov, with the approval of Leonid Brezhnev, had seized Gavrilov's passport and flight ticket and cut his telephone line. According to Gavrilov, he was put essentially under house arrest by the KGB. Militia guarding Gavrilov showed him an official paper signed by Andropov threatening his life. Through Mikhail Gorbachev's intervention, this ended in 1984, and Gavrilov received a passport so that he could perform again in the West without having to obtain political asylum. In the following years he briefly lived in London, England.
From 1977 to 1989 he worked exclusively for EMI. From that time came his recording of the Chopin ÃÂtudes and others of works by Chopin, Scriabin, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff and J. S. Bach. From 1991 to 1993 he recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, where he also duplicated some works already recorded for EMI. A number of projects were announced in 1992 but not realized.
In 1989, he moved to Bad Camberg, Germany and received German citizenship. In 1993, he temporarily retired, cancelling concerts and not making further studio recordings. The planned two-year sabbatical eventually grew to eight years. During this time he studied composers and their works as well as religious and philosophical questions, lived for half a year in Fiji, and fundamentally reworked his piano technique. In 2001 he moved to Lucerne, Switzerland, and resumed playing concerts. In August 2008, he moved with his second wife and their son to Kanton Zürich.
In 2012, Andrei Gavrilov held master classes for the first time, in Madrid and later in London. In April 2013, Andrei Gavrilov performed a concert in Belgrade, playing and conducting three concertos with the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra. He played another concert conducting two concertos from the piano in Bristol in May 2014.
In 2013, he completed his three-volume autobiography, the first volume of which was published in Russian and German in March and April 2014, and in English in December 2016. He also made his first recording in 20 years, a CD of Chopin Nocturnes, to be included with each copy of the book.
If not stated otherwise, recordings up to 1976 are released on Melodiya, those from 1977 to 1989 on EMI (in the beginning as a co-production with Melodiya), and those from 1991 to 1993 on Deutsche Grammophon.
1974
1976
1977
1979
1981
1982
1983
1984
1984/1985
1985/1987
1986
1987
1988
1989
1991
1992:
1993
1999
2014
2018
2020
UCM records. "Unzipped Classical Music". Private Andrei Gavrilov own label.
1979
1985
1989
1990
2000
2020
2009
2006