French pianist of Russian origin, Elena Filonova started playing the piano in the USSR when she was only 3 years old. At the age of 10, she won the first prize of the Beethoven National Competition for Young Talent. At the time, she played under the keen eye of Kirill Kondrashin. When 12, she started her career as concert pianist, directed by Evgeny Mravinsky. At the Moscow Music School, she was taught by Emil Gilels and Pavel Messner.

Her training followed the tradition of the Heinrich Neuhaus School even though she stayed in close contact with Emil Gilels. At the Tchaikovsky Conservatoire in Moscow, she became Evgeny Malinine’s student. After starting her career as concert pianist in Russia, she quickly gained soloist status, being invited to play in concert halls as prestigious as Carnegie Hall in New York or the Great Hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatoire in Moscow. She accompanied orchestras and chamber ensembles playing in Austria, Belgium, Canada, The Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Russia and The United States. Today, her repertoire ranges from Bach to contemporary composers.

As well as being a concert pianist, Elena Filonova has always had a passion for teaching. In Moscow, she taught at the Academy of Music within the Tchaikovsky Conservatoire and at the Special School for Music for Exceptionally Gifted Children. Since 1990, she has been living and teaching in Paris. In 2002, during one of her master-classes, she appeared in a film entitled "Un, deux, trois… Musique" ("Music Maestro!") that was broadcasted by the television channel Muzzik. Some of her pupils, such as Jean Dubé, have already started a brilliant professional career.

Her discography is mainly recorded under the label Melodyia. In France, she released a series of CDs featuring Giovanni Bottesini’s work with Rinat Ibraguimov, double bass soloist of the London Symphony Orchestra, piano recitals composed by Chopin, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov and Chedrine, followed in 2004 by a CD of Tchaikovsky’s recitals (Marcal Classics MA 040701, distribution Codaex) and a selection of "The Forgotten Melodies" by Nikolai Medtner (AR RE-SE 2005-9, distribution Codaex).

“I was struck by the sound range and the strength of her playing, doubled up with an appropriate rhythmical suppleness. The ‘bel canto’ is presented with grace, range and firmness. The personality of Elena Filonova – who, in addition, is one of the best interpreters of the Russian repertoire – imposes through the quality of her style. It is necessary to insist on the word ‘personality’: her playing produces accents that only belong to her. This sincerity allows us to discover a musical truth that is both unique and universal.”