Anton Batagov is a Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n pianist and post-minimalist composer.

A graduate of the Gnessin School and the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and prize-winner at the International Tchaikovsky Competition

International Tchaikovsky Competition

The International Tchaikovsky Competition is a classical music competition held every four years in Moscow, Russia for pianists, violinists, and cellists between 16 and 30 years of age, and singers between 19 and 32 years of age...

 (1986) and the Sydney International Piano Competition

Sydney International Piano Competition

The Sydney International Piano Competition of Australia is a music competition, presented by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in association with the University of Sydney and broadcast live throughout Australia. It is held every four years, over a three-week period in July-August, and is...

 (1988), among other competitions, Batagov was the first Russian pianist to perform works by John Cage

John Cage

John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...

, Morton Feldman

Morton Feldman

Morton Feldman was an American composer, born in New York City.A major figure in 20th century music, Feldman was a pioneer of indeterminate music, a development associated with the experimental New York School of composers also including John Cage, Christian Wolff, and Earle Brown...

, Steve Reich

Steve Reich

Stephen Michael "Steve" Reich is an American composer who together with La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass is a pioneering composer of minimal music...

, and Philip Glass

Philip Glass

Philip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...

. His discographical debut was a recording of Olivier Messiaen

Olivier Messiaen

Olivier Messiaen was a French composer, organist and ornithologist, one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex ; harmonically and melodically it is based on modes of limited transposition, which he abstracted from his early compositions and improvisations...

's Vingt regards sur l'Enfant Jesus for Melodiya

Melodiya

Melodiya is a Russian record label. It was the state-owned major record company/label of the Soviet Union.-History:It was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm of the USSR Ministry of Culture Melodiya"...

. From 1989 to 1996 he had been one of the leaders and organizers of Alternativa, the annual international new music festival in Moscow.

Heralded as “one of the most significant and unusual figures of Russian contemporary music” (Newsweek, Russian edition, 1997) and "a Russian Terry Riley" (Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 2008), Anton Batagov is one of the most influential Russian composers and performers. The post-Cagean philosophy of Batagov's projects eliminates any boundaries between "performance" and "composition" by viewing all existing musical practices, from ancient rituals to rock/pop culture and advanced computer technologies, as potential elements which might be used when performing/composing. American musicologist Richard Kostelanetz

Richard Kostelanetz

Richard Kostelanetz is an American artist, author and critic.He was born to Boris Kostelanetz and Ethel Cory and is the nephew of the composer Andre Kostelanetz....

 characterized Batagov's 1993 recording of "Die Kunst der Fuge" by J. S. Bach as "the most stunning interpretation of Bach since Glenn Gould

Glenn Gould

Glenn Herbert Gould was a Canadian pianist who became one of the best-known and most celebrated classical pianists of the 20th century. He was particularly renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard music of Johann Sebastian Bach...

".

The post-minimalist language of Batagov’s compositions is rooted in harmonic and rhythmic patterns of Russian church bells, old believers' chants and folk songs seamlessly mixed with the spirit of Western minimalism (Glass, Reich, Feldman, Nyman), the dynamic pulse of early Soviet avant-garde, and the unfading scent of rock music. His works feature a unique sense of large-scale architecture and textured emotionalism.

Batagov composes works for acoustic and electronic instruments. His discography counts over 30 CD releases. He is the author of several movie soundtracks, and the #1 composer of original music for Russian television. Since 1997, he has composed over 3.000 tunes for the major Russian TV channels. At present he works as a principal composer for "Kultura" Federal TV Channel.

In 1997 Batagov stopped performing live and since then he has been focusing on studio recordings. Most of his works written since the late 90's are deeply influenced by Buddhist philosophy and practice. He has written a number of major works based on a keystone Buddhist texts chanted by Tibetan lamas as well as several large-scale instrumental compositions inspired by Buddhist teachings.

In 2009 Anton Batagov received the prestigious national Steppenwolf Award in the Best Music category.

In 2009 Anton Batagov returned to live performances.

Discography

MUSIC BY ANTON BATAGOV

• I had been looking at the green trees for a long time (1994)
• Music for December (1998)
• Best Before 02.2000 (2000)
• Prayers and Dances (2CD set) (2001)
• Music for the 35 Buddhas (2001)
• The Wheel of the Law (3CD set) (2002)
• Music for Piano (2003)
• Save Changes Before Closing? (2003)
• Symphony.ru (2003)
• From the Beginning up to the End (2004)
• Tetractys (2004)
• Music for Films (2CD set) (2005)
• Passionate Desire to Be an Angel (2006)
• Breathing In Breathing Out (original motion picture soundtrack) (2007)
• The Monk Thogmey's Thirty-Seven Precepts (2007)
• The Musicmaker's Contract (NTV/NTV+ channels greatest hits) (2007)
• ab & xmz. The Piano And Other Sounds (2008)
• Lama Sonam Dorje & Anton Batagov. Daily Practice (2008)
• Bodhicharyavatara (2009)
• Lamrim. A prayer to the Lineage Gurus (2009)
• ab & xmz II (2009)

MUSIC BY VARIOUS COMPOSERS PERFORMED BY ANTON BATAGOV

• Messiaen: Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jesus (3CD set) (1990)
• Rails (Russian avant-garde piano music) (1991)
• Bach: Die Kunst der Fuge (2CD set)(1993)
• Ravel: Piano works (1994)
• Alexandre Rabinovitch: Oeuvres pour piano (1994)
• The New Ravel (Ravel: Piano works) (1996)
• Yesterday (Russian post-minimalist piano music) (1998)
• Vladimir Martynov: Opus posth (1998)
• Sergei Zagny: Sonata (2000)
• Remix (Beethoven, Schubert, Bach) (2002)
• Morton Feldman: Triadic Memories (2003)