Pavel Gililov was born in 1950 in the Ukraine. As a child prodigy he was supported by Dimitri Kabalewsky. He completed his piano studies at the Leningrad Conservatory with honours.

Still a student, Pavel Gililov won the National Piano Competition in Moscow in 1972. He is the winner of the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw and the International Viotti Piano Competition in Vercelli (1st prize).

In 1978 Pavel Gililov emigrated to the West and continued his concert and teaching activities.

From 1979 to 2013 he was a professor at the Cologne University of Music and since 2007 he is professor for piano at the University Mozarteum Salzburg.

The engagements with the leading orchestras and his numerous performances in the most important cultural metropoles of the world were enthusiastically received by the audience and critics. The CD recordings for Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft, RCA Victor, Toshiba EMI, Orfeo and others established his reputation.

He participated in numerous festivals: Newport (USA), Barcelona, ​​Salzburg Festival, Berliner Festwochen, Edinburgh, Schleswig Holstein and many others.

In addition to his solo career, he also devotes himself to the field of chamber music: Pavel Gililov was a member of the Berlin Philharmonic Piano Quartet. Pierre Amoyal, Dimitri Sitkovetsky, Tabea Zimmermann and Mischa Maisky were his regular chamber music partners.

For over 25 years he had a duo with Boris Pergamenschikow and several years a piano trio with Viktor Tretyakov and Karine Georgian.

In 2005, Pavel Gililov founded the International Telekom Beethoven Competition Bonn and has always been its artistic director and president of the jury.

Pavel Gililov leads numerous international masterclasses worldwide and is a sought-after juror in prestigious competitions.

Several works by contemporary composers have been dedicated to him and premiered by him.

Highlights of the 2018/19 season include appearances at the Merano Festival, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg under the baton of Valery Gergiev.