Youri Egorov was born in Kazan (Russia). His mother was a high school mathematics teacher, his father a geography teacher. He had two brothers, Alexander and Vladimir. Like his brothers, he started his music education at the age of six at Kazan's music school. Here he was taught by Irina Dubinina, a former pupil of the renowned Yakov Zak.

At the age of twelve, Yuri Egorov won the prize for the best interpretation of Shostakovich's Second Piano Concerto at a national competition. On this occasion he received the score with a commission from the composer. At the age of seventeen he continued his piano studies at the Moscow Conservatory, also with Yakov Zak, for six years.

In 1971 he won the fourth prize at the Marguérite Long-Jacques Thibaud Competition in Paris. In 1974 he won the third prize at the Tchaikovsky Competition and a year later, in 1975, the third prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition.

In May 1976, Youri Egorov was sent to Italy by the Russian State Secretary, but managed to escape his companions. He applied for political asylum in the Netherlands, barely 22 years old. Soon Youri met the architect Jan Brouwer in Amsterdam, who would become his life partner.

In 1977 Youri Egorov took part in the Van Cliburn Competition in Texas, where he became the public's favourite. When he turned out not to be one of the finalists, the disappointed audience collected a cash prize for the amount of $10,000, equal to that of the winner. In addition, he received an offer from the New York impresario Maxim Gershunoff for a series of concerts, even before the finals.

He made his New York recital debut in 1978 in the Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center. The following months he performed in Chicago, and a critic praised his performance as "the debut of the decade". In July 1978, Musical America Magazine selected Youri Egorov as "Musician of the Month. He made his debut at Carnegie Hall on December 16, 1978. This concert was recorded live. In 1981 he appeared at the La Roque d'Anthéron piano festival, the first year of the festival.

In the eighties Youri Egorov performed mainly in Europe. He alternated solo performances with playing chamber music, among others with Barbara Hendriks and Emmy Verhey. Exclusively for EMI he regularly recorded albums, with works by Beethoven, Schumann, Mozart and Debussy. His Préludes by Debussy received a ten in the music magazine Luister.

Youri Egorov died at home in Amsterdam from AIDS, only 33 years old.