One of Russia's favourite sons back in town
Published: 22 December, 2006, 14:02
Famous pianist Valery Afanasyev moved to France many years ago, and now rarely visits Moscow. So whenever he returns, he plays to a full house. Recently he has come to Moscow again.
It seems that Valery Afanasyev isn't afraid of change. At 13 he quitted studying mathematics when he fell in love with classical music. The pianist reached the peaks of success in his career but 30 years ago he suddenly decided to leave the USSR to move to France.It was there where he discovered another passion as a writer. All his novels are written in English and French. Some critics even compare his talent to Nabokov's.And now he's back in Moscow returning to his roots as a pianist. “When I play piano I feel very good even my body changes and becomes lighter. To tell you the truth my body is very important to me. It helps me to understand if what I do is good to me or not,” says the musician. At his only concert in Moscow, the pianist performed 4 sonatas of Beethoven. The evening was stamped with his distinctive style charming his fans.
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