1950 年 1 月 2 日，阿瓦里亞尼出生於前蘇聯喬治亞共和國首府堤比里西的一個愛好音樂的知識份子家庭（父親是地質學者）。七歲那年開始學琴，師事李斯特的再傳弟子徹爾妮雅夫斯卡雅（Tcherniavskaia）夫人。徹爾妮雅夫斯卡雅是當年堤比里西音樂院的鋼琴教師，也是一整代喬治亞鋼琴家的培育者。1965年，阿瓦里亞尼正式進入堤比里西音樂院，這個時期的他浸泡在音樂、文學與電影的世界。他這時的同學中尚有年輕的鋼琴家伊莉莎白．雷翁斯卡雅（Elisabeth Leonskaja）。 1969 年，阿瓦里亞尼考取莫斯科中央音樂院，向雷夫．佛拉森科（Lev Vlassenko）學琴。在蘇聯居民沒有旅行自由的年代，中央音樂院和列寧格勒音樂院是蘇聯境內、甚至是全共產世最高的音樂學府，也是蘇聯式音樂教育成功的象徵，能考進去的學生已有相當的音樂水準。與阿瓦里亞尼同期的同學中包括今天著名的鋼琴家費爾次曼（Vladimir Feltsman）和魯迪（Mikhail Rudy）。

1974 年中央音樂院畢業後到服國民役之前的這段時間，阿瓦里亞尼在蘇聯境內開始演奏家的生涯。這個時期，他與莫斯科新一代的電影導演、劇場工作者和評論家密切交往，醉心於帕索里尼與維斯康堤的影片，透過他們的作品，阿瓦里亞尼和他同一代的年輕人呼吸到一絲西歐 1960、70 年代自由、解放的氣息。稍晚，他用喬治亞文翻譯出版了阿爾比（Edward Albee）的劇作《靈慾春宵》（Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf ?），用俄文翻譯出版了英國鋼琴家慕爾（Gerald Moore）的回憶錄《我是否太大聲了？—一個伴奏者的回憶》（Am I too Loud ?）。

1975 年，阿瓦里亞尼從高加索山區服役回來，他在堤比里西遇見著名的鋼琴教師 Ethery Djakeli。Djakeli 是出生於巴黎的喬治亞第二代移民，她先後在巴黎音樂院和布魯塞爾皇家音樂院求學，是西班牙鋼琴家 Eduardo del Pueyo最親近的門生。與 Ethery Djakeli 的相遇使阿瓦里亞尼接觸到 Marie Jaëll（克拉拉．舒曼生前的對手）的鋼琴演奏法，這種源自十九世紀下半葉的演奏法超越了鋼琴的界限，用科學方式將演奏者的生理、心理因素結合起來，輔助他們建立自己的個性與思考方式，阿瓦里亞尼因此改變了自己對音樂的態度，逐漸將偏重技巧的一面收斂起來。

1979 年，睽違五年之後，阿瓦里亞尼回到莫斯科，加入蘇聯官方的音樂社。這座龐大的音樂機構集中管轄三個交響樂團、六個室內樂團及一百位獨奏家，當年蘇聯的明星小提琴家歐伊斯特拉赫、鋼琴家李希特都在旗下。從此開始到他 1989 年離開莫斯科，阿瓦里亞尼平均每年在蘇聯境內舉行約兩百場音樂會，從協奏曲、獨奏會、室內樂到聲樂伴奏，從音樂廳、市政廳、圖書館、美術館到工廠或鄉鎮的廣場，也與義大利大提琴家、1986 年柴可夫斯基大賽金牌得主 Mario Brunello 合作錄製貝多芬的奏鳴曲。

1989 年 3 月，在蘇聯領導人戈巴契夫的改革開放政策（Perestroika）的氛圍下，阿瓦里亞尼應友人邀請，第一次離開蘇聯廣大的領土，從莫斯科、列寧格勒、經捷克斯洛伐克、東西德到達巴黎。在他到達巴黎的同年 11 月，柏林圍牆倏地倒下，東歐、蘇聯體制開始鬆動、解體，一年多後他持有的蘇聯護照失效，伊拉克里．阿瓦里亞尼成為沒有國籍的人。同年，他申請入籍法國，定居巴黎，很少再回俄羅斯或喬治亞去。

2004 年 7 月，阿瓦里亞尼開始錄製布拉姆斯為鋼琴獨奏所寫的全部作品，第一輯「變奏曲」於同年底出版。2007 年接著問市的是「間奏曲」專輯，兩張 CD 收錄敘事曲、狂想曲、幻想曲、間奏曲等作品。接續發行巴赫、莫札特、貝多芬、舒曼、蕭邦、史卡拉第等人的作品，在巴黎樂壇皆獨得極佳讚譽。

The Georgian pianist, Irakly Avaliani, was born in into an old Georgian family. He began studying music with Mrs Tchernyavskaya at the Tbilisi Music College and gave his first concert at the age of 9. He continued his studies in Maestro Vlassenko’s class at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatoire where he graduated with distinction in 1974.

Irakly Avaliani began his career at a time when, because of the political situation, it was very difficult for Soviet artists to perform and even to gain permission to leave the country. He decided to return to Georgia where he perfected his technique with Ethéry Djakeli, who won the first prize at the CNSM in Paris and the Conservatoire Royal in Brussels and was a pupil of both Lazare Levy and Eduardo Del Pueyo. It was Ethéry Djakeli who first introduced Irakly Avaliani to the teachings of Marie Jaëll, and consequently completely revolutionised his piano technique over five years. He is now among a privileged handful of artists, Albert Schweitzer, Dinu Lipatti and Eduardo Del Pueyo who have pursued this way of playing. He has also translated two books by Marie Jaëll into both Russian and Georgian.

Irakly Avaliani then played as a soloist for «Filarmonia», the National Concert Agency in Moscow. Irakly Avaliani performed in all the Republics in the former USSR from Riga to Vladivostok, the Caucasus to Central Asia and from Moscow to Saint-Petersburg. He gave over 200 orchestral and chamber music recitals and concerts a year. His broad-ranging repertoire allows him to explore all piano styles, from Scarlatti to Scriabin, from the Romantic to the contemporary. His arrangements - in particular of Franz Liszt and Kreisler, which are extremely technically challenging, confi rm his reputation as an exceptional musician.

In 1989, Perestroika allowed Irakly Avaliani to settle in Paris. He gained French nationality in 1992. His first recital at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in 1995 was a resounding success. His recording of Johannes Brahmss’ Trios was selected by Reader’s Digest - alongside artists such as Carlo Maria Giulini, Aafje Heynis, Janos Starker, Wolfgang Sawallisch, and the Wiener Symphoniker - in a box set released for the Johannes Brahms Centenary.

Irakly Avaliani’s recording contract, the fruits of which have been lauded by the music press, has been managed by the Balas Group over the last ten years.