"Strings, Piano (May 1994)" comes out 30 years later

In August 2025, the French label Evidence Classics will release a unique album - "Strings, Piano (May 1994)" trio consisting of Anton Batagov, Alexei Aiga and Ensemble 4'33. This is the first and only joint work of these musicians, which has an interesting story, which Batagov himself revealed on the eve of the release.

In 1994, when Alexei Aigi was just creating his string quartet, he asked Batagov to write music for him and the piano, and that was when the idea for a future recording was born. At the same time, Batagov collaborated with Ivan Dykhovichi, creating a composition for the film inspired by "Music for December", but with a more melancholy mood.

Recorded in Mosfilm Studios, the 45-minute work, made from one take, was almost untouched, which allowed to preserve the amazing live energy of the performance. Despite the fact that only a short fragment (one minute) got into the film, the record was so impressive that 30 years later, Anton Batagov, on the advice of Alexei Aiga, decided to release it. It is truly a rare event in the world of music, featuring unrivalled play and a sense of moment that, despite the passage of time, has remained invariably strong.