This extraordinary pianist studied the piano at the Moscow Conservatory with
Emil Gilels and
Yakov Zak. After winning the 1970 Reine Elisabeth (Queen Elizabeth) piano competition in Brussels,
Afanassiev's international career took off. While touring Belgium, he made the difficult decision to seek political asylum, eventually becoming a Belgian citizen.
Afanassiev's chief repertoire is primarily based around the Romantics. His recordings contain music by
Bach,
Beethoven,
Brahms,
Schumann,
Mussorgsky,
Chopin, and others. He also performs in chamber music groups and has played with
Gidon Kremer and
Mischa Maisky.
Afanassiev has also tried his hand at conducting and has modeled his performances around the great conductors
Wilhelm Furtwängler,
Willem Mengelberg,
Otto Klemperer,
Bruno Walter, and
Hans Knappertsbusch.
Afanassiev has a second career as a writer, with a number of novels published and plays based on
Modest Mussorgsky's piano cycle Pictures at an Exhibition and
Robert Schumann's Kreisleriana to his name.
Afanassiev resides in Versailles and concertizes worldwide.
Afanassiev writes his own liner notes, to give listeners a greater understanding of his interpretations. His recordings are found primarily on Denon and
ECM, and include a complete cycle of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier (1996) and
Schubert's Moments Musicaux (2012).