Denis Vladimirovich Chefanov was born in Tyumen (1974). He started his musical studies at the age of four. He made his debut on the stage of the Kazan Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre (1981), and later with the State Symphony Orchestra of the Republic of Tatarstan (1983).
He graduated with a gold medal from the Secondary Special Music School at the Kazan State Zhiganov Conservatory (1981–1992, class of Honoured Teacher of the Republic of Tatarstan N. L. Khakimova). He completed his undergraduate studies (1997) and assistant traineeship (1999) at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (class of Professor N. L. Shtarkman). He is a prizewinner of international competitions in Russia, Sweden and Ukraine.
He served as assistant in the classes of N. L. Shtarkman (1999–2007) and A. A. Nasedkin (2007–2014). He has led his own classes at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (since 2014), at the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music (since 2017) and at the Central Music School at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (2007–2017). He has been Associate Professor at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (since 2017) and Professor at the Moscow State Academy of Choreography of the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia (since the 2000s). Over the years of teaching he has trained more than one hundred prizewinners of international competitions. He is a visiting professor at universities in the Japanese cities of Kurashiki (since 2013) and Niigata (since 2016).
He regularly gives masterclasses and performs concerts in Brazil, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, China, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Russia, North Korea, North Macedonia, Syria, Finland, France, South Korea, Japan, in Ukraine and in other countries. He takes part as chair and member of the jury of Russian and international piano competitions.
He maintains an active concert career, appearing in major concert halls in Moscow, Almetyevsk, Barnaul, Belgorod, Vladimir, Vologda, Yelabuga, Ivanovo, Kazan, Kemerovo, Naberezhnye Chelny, Nizhny Novgorod, Novy Urengoy, Novokuznetsk, Omsk, Ryazan, Saratov, Tomsk, Tula, Tyumen, Khabarovsk and other cities in Russia and Belarus. Alongside his solo performances he collaborates with several major orchestras in Russia.
He also collaborates with renowned musicians from Russia and other countries, including Nikolay Ageev, Filippo Arlia, Mikhail Burlakov, Maria Vlasova, Duncan Gifford, Alexey Maevsky, Rustem Kudoyarov, Viktor Lyadov, Pavel Minev, Evgeny Rumyantsev, Elena Savelyeva, Alexander Selivanov, Tian tian Tang, Nadezhda Tokareva, Polina Fedotova, Oleg Khudyakov, Shangzhong Jiang, Naum Shtarkman (1927–2006), as well as the Glinka State String Quartet, the Classic Forum Ensemble of Soloists and others.
