Arvo Pärt is one of the few composers whose music can be recognized from just a few notes. It’s no surprise that his music has remained among the most frequently performed works by contemporary composers worldwide for several decades. The Estonian composer, who is celebrating his 90th birthday, became a global phenomenon by choosing a path that, at first glance, seemed at odds with his time. While music was seeking ever-new and complex forms, A. Pärt turned to simplicity and silence.
Before discovering his own tintinnabuli* style, A. Pärt experimented with various musical trends of the 20th century and later delved deeper and deeper into early music, Gregorian chant, and polyphony. He did not reject the past, but neither did he seek to replicate it. These diverse musical experiences became the foundation for a language that is understood today by listeners around the world.
In a program prepared for Pärt’s anniversary, pianist Onutė Gražinytė and cellist Edward King take a broader look at the composer—through the works of other creators whose music reveals ideas akin to his own. Johann Sebastian Bach’s works reveal clear form and inner order; Olivier Messiaen’s music, a unique sense of time and spiritual quests; and Alfred Schnittke’s sonata, the clash of different musical worlds. Performed alongside these works, “Fratres” and “Spiegel im Spiegel” will remind us that sometimes the greatest impression is left not by an abundance of sounds, but by the ability to hear what lies between them.
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