06 Mar
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1hr 30mins, no interval
When one of the world’s greatest pianists plays pieces created by one of its greatest composers, the result is transcendent. An Adelaide Festival exclusive, experience a revelation of a performance as pianist Anton Batagov brings to life the famously layered works of Philip Glass.
Touring internationally together for almost a decade, Batagov has become one of Glass’ closest collaborators. Now, for the composer’s 90th birthday, Batagov has made a deeply personal selection of Glass’ works to perform that have influenced and inspired his life. From Einstein on the Beach to Koyaanisqatsi, Distant Figure to music from The Hours, Batagov expands the very world of music to capture this giant of our time on piano.
Anton Batagov also appears in The Complete Philip Glass Piano Etudes.
“The greatist pianist of our time. His performance transcends the material world.”
Composer, pianist and sound producer Anton Batagov is a distinctive and influential voice in contemporary classical music. His discography includes more than 60 albums, and his compositions have been performed and recorded by leading classical and rock musicians and orchestras around the world.
Batagov’s work moves freely across centuries and genres, dissolving boundaries between performance and composition. His artistic practice draws on musical traditions ranging from ancient ritual to rock and pop culture, alongside contemporary technologies.
Batagov is a close collaborator of Philip Glass and a leading interpreter of his music. He has toured internationally with Glass for almost a decade, and his recordings of Glass’s works have received worldwide recognition.
As a composer, Batagov has developed a distinctive post-minimalist language, rooted in the harmonic and rhythmic patterns of Russian church bells and combining the dynamic pulse of the early Soviet avant-garde with the energy of progressive rock and the spirit of Buddhist philosophy. He has also composed several film soundtracks and original music for numerous television channels.
From 1997 to 2009, Batagov withdrew from concert performance to focus on recording and composition. Since returning to the stage in 2009, he has presented a series of solo piano programs encompassing contemporary classics, music of the past and his own compositions. His repertoire ranges from John Cage, Morton Feldman, Philip Glass and Michael Nyman to Bach, Pachelbel, Mozart, Schubert and Debussy.
Batagov has performed at venues including Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York, Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Berliner Philharmonie, Philharmonie de Paris, Musiikkitalo in Helsinki, Teatro Regio in Parma and the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. His festival appearances include Salzburg Festival, Ruhrtriennale, New York’s Next Wave and Bang on a Can festivals, Aarhus Festival and the Diaghilev Festival.
Philip Glass Prophecies from Koyaanisqatsi
Philip Glass Night Train
Philip Glass Knee Play 5 from Einstein on the Beach
Philip Glass Glassworks
Anton Batagov - piano
Image credit: Ira Polyarnaya
