Valery Afanassiev

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 wi...