Anton Batagov

Anton Batagov (born 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 "the greatest pianist of our time" (Crescendo"" magazine, Germany, 2017), 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 (1986) and other competitions, Batagov introduced music by John Cage, Morton Feldman, Steve Reich and Philip Glass to Russian audiences. His debut album was a 160-minute recording of Olivier Messiaen's "Vingt regards sur l'Enfant Jesus" ("Melodiya", 1990). 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 of classical and contemporary music distinguish themselves with expert knowledge of traditions and the history of culture. At the same time, they radically change habitual conceptions of these works, and even of the very foundations of musical art. 
From 1989 to 1996 Batagov was the artistic director of the legendary festival of contemporary music "Alternativa". The influence of his work on the understanding of classical and new music and on the artistic tendencies in Russia has been tremendous. 
In 1997 he stopped performing live for 12 years to focus on composition and studio recordings.
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 and folk songs seamlessly mixed with the spirit of Buddhist philosophy, the dynamic pulse of early Soviet avant-garde, and the unfading appeal of progressive rock. 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 elements of his work. His discography includes over 50 albums. Batagov is the author of several movie soundtracks, and original music for major Russian TV channels. 
In 2009 he returned to live performances. Since then, he has been performing a series of unique solo piano programs. He repertoire includes works by Bach, Pachelbel, Purcell and early English music, Mozart, Schubert, Debussy, as well as many other composers, and his own numerous piano compositions. Batagov is one of the key performers of piano works by Philip Glass. Batagov's recordings and live performances of Glass include the complete etudes, Batagov's piano arrangements of scenes from Einstein on the Beach and Koyaanisqatsi), music from "The Hours", "Distant Figure" (a composition written by Philip Glass for and premiered by Batagov), and other works.
Batagov's compositions have been performed by outstanding Russian classical and rock musicians and orchestras.