Logic Of Sound And Silence: Chaos And Order

"In Logic of Sound and Silence, Rakhat-Bi Abdyssagin, a world-renowned performer, composer, and philosopher, develops a path-breaking mathematical framework for the formal analysis of contemporary avant-garde music, where timbre-texture is the fundamental dimension. The book offers deep insights into structural aspects of this rapidly expanding genre that will facilitate exploration of novel creative approaches to composition and performance, as well as theoretical and philosophical analysis."

Scott Weinstein, Professor of Philosophy and of Mathematics and Computer and Information Science, Director, Logic, Information, and Computation Program University of Pennsylvania

"How do we formally represent those features of avant-garde music — above all texture and timbre — that go beyond the means of traditional musical representation, so as to permit the structural analysis of this music? Rakhat-Bi Abdyssagin — virtuoso, composer, and philosopher — uses his unique combination of skills to explore the possibility of using the tools of formal, quantified, modal logic with set theory taken from analytic philosophy, to be the means of representation and analysis that musicologists need. This creative yet rigorous approach will reward the attention of not just musicologists but also anyone interested in the use of formal tools to represent and analyse abstract structures."

Alexander Bird, Bertrand Russell Professor of Philosophy, University of Cambridge

"This is a unique and remarkable book, which sits productively (and provocatively) at the intersection of set theory, physics, philosophy, musical analysis and avant-garde composition. Rakhat-Bi Abdyssagin offers much more than a commentary on his own creative output — though that in itself is a rewarding enterprise. Rather, his volume constitutes a richly conceptual treatise on the algorithmic relationship between music, sound, noise, timbre, and silence."

Daniel Grimley, Professor of Music and Head of Humanities, University of Oxford

Rakhat-Bi Abdyssagin (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', and 'Chaos and Order'. 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, Carnegie Hall (New York), and other prestigious venues. 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 — equivalents to doctorates — at the most prestigious Italian music institutions. He has also been a visiting scholar at the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and UCL. 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.