Diev's mother was a
pianist and his father was a
conductor, both having graduated from the Moscow Conservatory. Diev began his piano studies with his grandmother and formally studied music at
Gnessin State Musical College in 1965. He later transferred to the Moscow Central Music School of the Moscow Conservatory in 1973 to study with
Lev Naumov and continued his studies with Naumov when he entered the Moscow Conservatory in 1975, graduating in 1981. Diev has been teaching at the Moscow Conservatory as Naumov's assistant since 1988. He is also a professor at the International High School and gives masterclasses at the Moscow Conservatory, the
Royal College of Music, and throughout
Russia,
Japan,
Italy, and other countries. His students include
Andrei Korobeinikov,
Eduard Kunz, Pavel Dombrovsky, Dmitry Onishenko, and Ilya Ramlav. His
discography includes complete recordings of
Rachmaninov's 24 preludes,
Debussy's 24 preludes and
Scriabin's 90 preludes for
BMG. He has also recorded works by
Mozart and
Prokofiev for
Supraphon (including Prokofiev's Piano Concerto no. 2), works by
Messiaen for Fontec and by
Roslavetz for
Russian Seasons/
Chant du Monde. ==References==