Anton Batagov is a Russian pianist and post-minimalist composer. Heralded as "one of the most significant and unusual figures of Russian contemporary music" and "the greatest pianist of our time" Anton Batagov is one of the most influential Russian composers and performers of our time.
Biography
A graduate of the Gnessin School and the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and prize-winner at the International Tchaikovsky Competition and other competitions, Batagov introduced the music by John Cage, Morton Feldman, Steve Reich and Philip Glass to Russian audiences. His debut CD was a 160-minute recording of Olivier Messiaen's Vingt regards sur l'Enfant Jesus. Three years later a well-known American musicologist Richard Kostelanetz characterized Batagov's 1993 recording of Bach's "The Art of the Fugue" as "the most stunning interpretation of Bach since Glenn Gould". His interpretations include those of Bach, Schubert, Beethoven, Messiaen, Ravel, composers of the Russian avant-garde and those of the post avant-garde. Batagov was also artistic director of the festival of contemporary music "Alternativa". In 1997 Batagov stopped performing live, and became focused instead on composition and studio recordings. As a composer, Batagov began in the traditions of minimalism. The post-minimalist language of Batagov’s compositions is rooted in the harmonic and rhythmic patterns of Russian church bells and folk songs mixed with the spirit of Buddhist philosophy, early Soviet avant-garde, and progressive rock music. He is the author of several movie soundtracks and over 3000 tunes for the major Russian TV channels. Since the late 1990s some of his works have been influenced by Buddhist philosophy and practice. He has composed a number of works based on ancient Buddhist texts chanted by Tibetan lamas, as well as several large-scale instrumental compositions inspired by Buddhist teachings. In 2009 Anton Batagov received the national Steppenwolf Award in the Best Music category. In 2009, after twelve years, he returned to live performances. Since then, he has been performing a series of solo piano recital programs. In 2013 WNYC radio named his album Tayatha among the top 10 contemporary classical releases of the year. In 2015 his album I Fear No More, a symphonic/rock vocal cycle performed by the Russian State Symphony Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Jurowski, was nominated for International Classical Music Awards. The premieres of Batagov's three recent
