Biography

Born in Moscow in 1997, pianist Dmitry Batalov received his professional education at the Central Music School and the Moscow Conservatory P.I. Tchaikovsky. He studied piano under Professor Natalia Trull and musicology, graduating with honors in 2021. During his studies, Dmitry developed a strong passion for contemporary music, which earned him international recognition in 2020 when he won the 2nd prize and four special prizes at the prestigious 14th Orléans Piano Competition (France), the largest competition dedicated to 20th- and 21st-century piano music.

In 2022, Dmitry moved to Switzerland to pursue master degree in specialized performance of contemporary music at the Basel Music Academy. There, he also studied classical piano with Professor Claudio Martinez Mehner and historical piano with Professor Tobias Schabenberger. His success continued with first prizes at the Reate Festival Competition for Contemporary Music Performance in Rome (November 2023) and the John Cage Award in Halberstadt, Germany (August 2024). He was also awarded a scholarship from the Nicati De-Luze Foundation. Currently, Dmitry is undertaking postgraduate studies in classical piano at the Basel Music Academy.

Dmitry has collaborated with esteemed composers such as Helmut Lachenmann, Salvatore Sciarrino, Tristan Murail, Philippe Hurel, Marco Di Bari, Fabio Vacchi, Dmitri Kourliandski, and Vladimir Gorlinsky. An advocate for contemporary music, he actively collaborates with younger composers, frequently premiering works written for him. His repertoire spans all stylistic periods from early Baroque to contemporary music, with a focus on monographic and conceptual recital programs that create dialogues between well-known and lesser-performed pieces. In 2023, he recorded the complete piano works of Vladimir Gorlinsky.

Dmitry has performed at major festivals, including the Bartolomeo Cristofori Piano Festival in Padova (2024), the Ruemlingen New Music Festival (2024), the Tzlil Meudcan Festival in Tel Aviv (2023), the Ferienkurse in Darmstadt (2023), the Impuls Festival in Graz (2023), the Beethoven Piano Club in Bonn (2023), the Sommersprossen Festival in Rottweil (2022), and the Moscow Contemporary Music Forum (2021). He has shared the stage with distinguished musicians such as soprano Sarah Maria Sun, conductors Heinz Holliger and Ilan Volkov, and emerging soloists like cellist James Morley and violinist Dmitry Smirnov. His collaborations extend to renowned ensembles, including Ensemble Intercontemporain, Opensound Orchestra, and the Studio for New Music.

In 2021, Dmitry was a resident at the Maison Henri Dutilleux in Candes-Saint-Martin and began a regular collaboration with the Divertimento Ensemble in Milan, which continues to this day.