2021, bitter pill: third part. Anton Batagov, Russian minimalist pianist and composer, possesses an aura of “Professor Nimbus” of the piano. So, what about Schubert? Criticizing this deadly and exhausting CD would be like shooting an ambulance. Frozen in lethargic slowness (the 1er movement of D. 960 lasts 28 minutes!), Batagov evolves in his world. On the other hand, his CD is one of those based on a disturbing fad. The Russian plays a Impromptu, 1er movement of the Sonata, a Klavierstück, the 2e movement, Ländler, etc. Same thing with Echoes of Life, by Alice Sara Ott (DG), a recording of Preludes of Chopin whose continuum is interrupted sometimes by Ligeti, sometimes by Nino Rota or Arvo Pärt. This obsession with “imaginary bridges”, celebrated in Labyrinth, by David Greilsamer (Naïve), may be a quest aimed at reintroducing the music of our century in our universe, but much more often risks becoming an artifice intended to sell a 150e version of Preludes of Chopin under cover of false originality.
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