Andrei Diyev is a Russian pianist, Honored Artist of Russia, and professor at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music, the Gnesin Musical College, and the Gnesin Secondary Specialized Music School. He was born on 7 July 1958 in Minsk into a family of well-known musicians: his father was a composer, conductor, and teacher, and his mother was a pianist and teacher who had studied with Heinrich Neuhaus. Diyev received his first piano lessons from his grandmother.
He began his musical education at the Gnesin Secondary Specialized Music School in 1965. In 1973 he transferred to the Central Music School at the Moscow Conservatory in order to study with Professor Lev Naumov, under whom he continued his training. In 1975 he entered the Moscow Conservatory, graduating in 1981, and in 1985 he completed his assistantship-internship there.
Diyev is a soloist of the Moscow State Academic Philharmonic. He made his debut in Moscow at the age of 17, performing Grieg's Piano Concerto with the State Symphony Orchestra. In 1995 he was awarded the title Honored Artist of Russia. The article describes him as a vivid representative of the Russian piano school of the 20th century, combining nobility of artistic manner and virtuoso brilliance with romantic impulse, intellectual power, interpretive variety, and a deep analytical approach to the works he performs.
His repertoire spans music of four centuries, from Bach, Scarlatti, and Soler to contemporary composers. He pays particular attention to the works of Chopin, Alexander Scriabin, Debussy, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, and Messiaen. As a chamber performer and soloist, he has more than 30 piano concertos in his repertoire.
Diyev has received significant recognition for his artistry. In 1990, Steinway & Sons included him among the world's most popular pianists. He won the Moscow Mayoral Prize in Literature and the Arts in 2000 and was named "Musician of the Year" by the newspaper Muzykalnoye Obozrenie three times, in 1996, 1997, and 2002. He has also served on juries for international piano competitions in Athens, Tokyo, Bucharest, and Porto, as well as at Russian competitions in Moscow, Pyatigorsk, Krasnodar, and elsewhere.
Alongside his active concert career, Diyev has taught extensively at the Moscow Conservatory and trained a number of notable pianists who became laureates of international competitions. He is also the author of original transcriptions of a number of popular classical works by composers such as Manuel de Falla, Sergei Prokofiev, and Dmitri Shostakovich.
His discography includes large-scale recordings of the 24 Preludes by Rachmaninoff, the 24 Preludes by Debussy, and all 90 preludes by Alexander Scriabin. The Scriabin recording became part of the large project Anthology of the 20th-Century Piano Prelude. In 2020, for the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth, a CD of the composer's works was issued, and in 2023, for the 150th anniversary of Rachmaninoff's birth, his Rachmaninoff disc of 24 preludes was reissued.