Dr Rakhat-Bi Abdyssagin, Wolfson College
We are delighted to welcome pianist, composer, author and quantum musician, Rakhat-Bi Abdyssagin, to discuss his recent publication, "The Logic of Sound and Silence. Chaos and Order".
Abstract
Abdyssagin Rakhat-Bi Tolegenuly (born 2 February 1999, Kazakhstan) is a distinguished, award-winning composer, concert pianist, music theorist, researcher and Doctor of Philosophy. He is the author of three operas – ‘The Path Lit by the Sun’ (2019), ‘The Mysterious Lady’ (2019) and ‘The Bruce’ (2023) – and more than 150
music compositions, ranging from chamber to symphonic works, including ‘The Will to Live’, ‘God’s Dwelling’, ‘Beyond the Darkness’, ‘Time Run’, ‘Tears of Silence’, ‘A Drop of Eternity’, ‘The Sacred Universe of Particles’, ‘Phantom Reflections’, ‘Shadows of the Void’, ‘Serenade of Invisible Stars’, ‘Ghosts of Immortality’, ‘Qubylys’, ‘Quantum Reality’, ‘I raggi di Dante’, ‘Chaos and Order’, and ‘Quantum Universe’ Symphony for Organ, Quantum Guitar and Electronics (the first ever quantum music composition, 2025).
He was awarded the 2024 Silver Medal of the Worshipful Company of Musicians, London, UK. In the media, Rakhat-Bi is often called the ‘Kazakh Mozart’. His major scores have been published by Verlag Neue Musik Berlin; for example, the unique anthology Selected Solo Works (2022) for each solo instrument of the symphony orchestra. The music of R.-B. Abdyssagin has been performed in the famous concert halls of Europe, Asia and America, including the Berliner Philharmonie, Vienna Konzerthaus, Salzburg Mozarteum and Carnegie Hall (New York). Three of his piano CDs have been released in Germany.
Rakhat-Bi became an undergraduate student in Kazakhstan at the age of 13 and, at 18, was awarded a master of art sciences degree. Then, at age 20, he completed three postgraduate degrees – equivalent to doctorates –
at the most prestigious Italian music institutions. He has been awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy following doctoral research conducted in 2022–2024 at the University of St Andrews and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, UK. He has also been a visiting scholar at the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and UCL. He has a Postgraduate Certificate in Philosophy from the University of Cambridge (2024).
From the age of 13, he has lectured internationally on ‘the ways of music’ and other topics, and he has authored numerous research articles and monographs. At 14, he published the book Mathematics and Contemporary Music. In 2024, Rakhat-Bi’s book ‘Quantum Mechanics and Avant-Garde Music: Shadows of the Void’ was published by Springer Nature. In 2026, his monograph ‘Logic of Sound and Silence:
Chaos and Order’ was published by World Scientific.
Since 2019, he has been the Founder, Artistic Director and Chairman of the Jury of the International Composer
Competition ‘New Music Generation’ (Astana, Kazakhstan).