His mother was the Armenian pianist Assanetta Eguiserian (December 20, 1925 – November 29, 2006), who had studied with Heinrich Neuhaus and gave Gavrilov his first piano lessons at age 2.

In 1961 he was inducted at the Moscow Central Music School and became a student of Tatyana Kestner, who had studied with Alexander Goldenweiser.

Militia guarding Gavrilov once showed him an official paper signed by Andropov stating that a fatal accident would not be unwelcome.

[2] Only through Mikhail Gorbachev's eventual intervention did this end in 1984, and Gavrilov received a "free passport", so that he could perform again in the West without having to obtain political asylum.

But I knew if I was to continue in this way I would never be the artist I dreamed of being - free, original, idealistic, out of the so-called musical industry, which is a contradiction in terms.

At this time he studied the intentions of the composers in their works, religious and philosophical questions, lived half a year in Fiji, and fundamentally reworked his piano technique.

In April 2013 Andrei Gavrilov performed a concert in Belgrade playing and conducting three romantic concertos in one evening, with a full symphony orchestra.