Alexei Lubimov was born in Moscow in 1944, and began his musical training at the Central Music School. He attended the Moscow Conservatory where he was one of the last students of the great pianist, teacher and writer Heinrich Neuhaus. He won First Prize at the All-Russian Piano Competition when he was 16, and was also a prize-winner at international competitions in Rio de Janeiro and Montreal.

He made his mark as a champion of contemporary composers in 1968, when he gave the Moscow debuts of works by John Cage and Terry Riley and it was through his endeavours - also as the founder of the important Moscow festival "Alternativa" - that many listeners in Russia became acquainted with the music of numerous western composers. He also premiered pieces by Silvestrov, Schnittke, Gubaidulina and other major figures in composition inside what was then the Soviet Bloc.

In the 1980s, Lubimov devoted a great deal of his time to authentic instruments and music played on historical principles. He formed the Moscow Baroque Quartet and pioneered harpsichord and fortepiano performances in the USSR, and founded a baroque ensemble, the Moscow Chamber Academy, with Tatiana Grindenko.

Lubimov's international breakthrough came in 1987. Since then, he has given numerous recitals in the United States, Europe and Japan, and performed with major symphony orchestras under conductors including Vladimir Ashkenazy, David Oistrakh, Charles Mackerras, Neeme Jarvi, Esa Pekka Salonen, Frans Bruggen etc. His chamber music partners include Heinrich Schiff, Natalia Gutman and Eduard Brunner. His recordings include more than 30 albums for Russian label Melodiya; the complete Mozart Sonatas on fortepiano, and works by Schubert, Chopin, Beethoven and Brahms for Erato; and 20th century music for BIS and Sony.

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