Sergei Zagny would obviously resent being classified as a Russian avant-garde composer, having come across quite angrily in interviews regarding his right to be considered a human being first, not a Russian. But having forced him into the lineup of modern Russian composers, he would subsequently reach the dividing wall between the Soviet era and the post-Soviet era, and be directed to stand in the latter zone. That doesn't make life particularly easy for him, as the collapse of the Soviet regime was, among many other things, the demise of an enormous official propaganda machine dedicated to bringing all things Russian to the world's attention, music included. Of course there were only certain composers deemed worthy of the state's muscle, but the effect Russia's deteriorating economic conditions have had on publication and recording in post-Soviet times does not represent an improved situation for the contemporary composer. The new freedom has allowed producers such as Nick Dmitriev the possibility to publish, on his own Long Arms label, items such as Zagny's challenging CD Sonata Electronic Music, No. 5: Sonata Reconstructed. The limited distribution such recordings have received internationally is part of a situation where an Iowa college's festival of Russian music has its large panel of performers including Zagny described as a "showcase of unknowns" by journalists. But of course,e a grand part of the whole avant-garde career thing is deep obscurity, in which case Zagny is something of a champion. Zagny trained and worked professionally as both a typesetter and musicologist. He studied composition with Albert Lehman and theory with the esteemed Vsevolod Zaderatsky. Between 1988 and 1991 he completed higher studies and the following year began teaching polyphony, harmony and music analysis. He began directing a group entitled the Small Garden Orchestra at this institution, and from 1993 through 1995 became involved in the Theremin Center, inspiring his main period of creating electronic music. He is best known for his piano compositions, partially because he has been quite effective performing these pieces himself. The Zagny keyboard repertoire has also been performed and recorded by Anton Bataganov, Lew Rubinstein, Masha Chuykova, Slava Guyvoronsky, Lina Petrova, Anna Koleichuk and Mark Pekarsky. His works have been presented throughout Russia as well as in Italy, Germany, France, Switzerland, Holland and the United States. He sometimes performs as a member of the Vocal-Instrumental Theater, also featuring composers Tatiana Mikheyeva and Iraida Yusupova, musicologist and singer Svetlana Savenko, cellist Dmitri Cheglakov and dancer Elena Lukyanchikova. In 1992, Zagny won first prize in the Russian John Cage Awards and received a grant from the Open Society Institute. Cage might be a good frame of reference for examining what Zagny is up to, but then again that could be said for just about any avant-garde composer born in the early '60s. This normalcy of the abnormal is an obvious aspect of Zagny's repertoire. Like many composers, he has his "Hymns for Tape" as well as a 1997 "Requiem." He pays tribute to classical tradition in his piano sonatas, and uses the term "concerto" in the title of one of his electronic compositions. Zagny will often write for instrumental combinations that seem downright bizarre on paper; such as a work for recorder, oboe, saxophone, violoncello, double bass, guitar and piano. While the outlandish description of "melody gasoline work" is the result of a cybertronic translation system and not an attempt at description, the composer's open-end form structures could be as unpleasant as gasoline fumes to the listener who has never been locked in such a musical Cage before. "This is of open form and its execution time can go from one minute to several hours" is a bit of instruction from a Zagny sonata, although it sounds like a good description of the process of waiting to board a commercial airline. Critical reaction to Zagny has been mixed. "From new Russia without much emotion" was the headline of a review that found fault not only with Zagny but most of his peers. Zagny's "Magic Stars," based on mathematical properties of a six-pointed star design, "was not compelling to hear," wrote another critic. There has been both heckling and snoring at Zagny performances, but the latter distraction cannot always be sourced to the audience. While performing a piece entitled "Cage's Dream Dreamed," Zagny himself was reported to have fallen asleep at the piano. If Cage himself rolled over in his eternal sleep at this point it would hopefully not be interpreted as a negative comment. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide