ANTON BATAGOV Composer / pianist
Brilliantly hypnotizing (Los Angeles Times)
His performance transcends the material world. (Crescendo magazine, Germany)
Anton Batagov is a mystic of the piano. Part shaman and part showman, beneath his fingers the keys of the keyboard reveal another world, another layer of spiritual energy, and another way of listening.
(Time out New York magazine)
Batagov shakes up our notion of what a solo piano recital can sound like. (The Gathering Note, Seattle)
Composer and pianist Anton Batagov is one of the most influential and iconic figures in the world of new classics. His discography includes over 60 albums. He plays on the world's most prestigious stages. His compositions have been performed and recorded by outstanding classical and rock musicians and orchestras. The 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 inseparable elements of his own practice. Anton Batagov is one of the closest collaborators of Philip Glass, one of the key performers of his music. He has been touring internationally with Glass for almost a decade. His Glass albums – The complete Etudes, Prophecies (Batagov's piano arrangements of scenes from Einstein on the Beach and Koyaanisqatsi), music from The Hours and Distant figure (a composition written by Philip Glass for and premiered by Anton Batagov) – have received critical recognition, thousands of sales and millions of streams. As a composer, Batagov has his own unique voice. The post-minimalist language of his compositions is rooted in the harmonic and rhythmic patterns of Russian church bells mixed with the spirit of Buddhist philosophy, the dynamic pulse of early Soviet avant-garde, and the unfading energy of progressive rock. Batagov is an author of several movie soundtracks and original music for numerous television channels. From 1997 to 2009, Batagov stopped his concert activity to focus on recording and composition. Since 2009 he has been performing a series of unique solo piano programs. His repertoire includes contemporary classics and great composers of the past. Along with the music of John Cage, Morton Feldman, Philip Glass and Michael Nyman, Batagov performs Bach, Pachelbel, early English music, Mozart, Schubert, Debussy, and many others composers, as well as his own numerous piano compositions. Mr. Batagov has performed at The Grand Hall of Moscow Conservatory and The Grand Hall of St.Petersburg Philharmonie, Moscow International House of Music and Zaryadye Hall, Walt Disney Hall (Los Angeles) and Brooklyn Academy of Music (New York), Jordan Hall (Boston) and Bing Concert Hall (Palo Alto, CA), Elbphilharmonie (Hamburg), The Berliner Philharmonie and Philharmonie de Paris, Musiikkitalo (Helsinki) and Reduta Hall (Bratislava), Teatro Regio (Parma, Italy) and Palau de la Musica Catalana (Barcelona, Spain), and many other venues.
ANTON BATAGOV plays BACH
Partita No. 4 in D major
Partita No. 6 in E minor
Jesus bleibet meine Freude
Classical CD Of The Week (Forbes Magazine): Anton Batagov's Bach With Batagov, we are not dealing with a Partita anymore. Notes, Suspended in Space. The movements, although still containing all the notes in the right order, are broken, refracted, restored, abstracted and revived. More than once I had the aural image of Einstein on the Beach come to mind. No coincidence that Batagov has recorded Philip Glass’ works with the composer’s seal of approval. Mesmerizing experience. It is held together by a generously sensational pianism; a touch that can keep notes alive long after they have been struck and faded away… Close your eyes and allow yourself the trip.