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Anton Batagov “One of the most significant and unusual figures of Russian contemporary music.” "a Russian Terry Riley" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Anton Batagov (born October 10, 1965) is one of the most influential Russian composers and performers.
A graduate of the Gnessin School and the Moscow
Tchaikovsky
Conservatory and prize-winner at
the International Tchaikovsky Competition (1986) and the Sydney International Piano Competition (1988), among other competitions, Batagov was the first Russian pianist to
perform works by
John Cage, Morton Feldman, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass. From 1989 to1996 he had been one of the leaders and organizers of Alternativa, the annual international new music festival in Moscow. 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. The well-known American musicologist Richard Kostelanetz characterized the Batagov's 1993 recording of "Die Kunst der Fuge" by J.S.Bach as "the most stunning interpretation of Bach since Glenn Gould". 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 chief 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.
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