2.4: Rig-Stong Mind and Voidness - Anton Batagov

Anton Batagov (Russian: Антон Батагов; born in Moscow, October 10, 1965) is a Russian pianist and post-minimalist composer.

Heralded as "one of the most significant and unusual figures of Russian contemporary music" (Newsweek, Russian edition, 1997) and "a Russian Terry Riley" (Los Angeles Times, 2008), Anton Batagov is one of the most influential Russian composers and performers of our time. 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 and pop culture and advanced computer technologies—as potential elements of performance and composition.

He was the first Russian pianist to take advantage of interpreting works by John Cage, Morton Feldman, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass. For ten years Anton Batagov had been one of the leaders and organizers of "Alternativa", the annual international new music festival in Moscow.

While the musical language of Batagov’s compositions was influenced by the heritage of Russian and European classics, he created the style of his own developing harmonic palette and motoric pulse of the Soviet avant-garde music of the 20-30s. His post-minimalist aesthetics which features trademark rhythmic vigor, unique sense of large-scale architecture, and lush, textured emotionalism, "might be mapped between Philip Glass' hot urban jungle and Morton Feldman's icy alpine heights". (The Moscow Tribune).

Batagov composes works for acoustic and electronic instruments. His discography counts about 30 CD releases. He is the author of several soundtracks for the movies directed by leading Russian directors. In the last decade he became a pioneer in making original music for the post-Soviet television. He composed over 1.500 tunes for the five major Russian TV channels. At present he works as a chief composer for the Federal Culture Channel.

In 1997 Anton Batagov discontinued his live performances and focused on studio recordings.

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