Latest Release
- 24 MAR 2023
- 51 Songs
- Seasons of Life - Bonus Tracks · 2020
- Der Eisenberg Sampler - Vol. 9 · 2019
- Mother Night (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) · 1994
- Pärt: Vater unser - Single · 2011
- Foxcatcher (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture) · 2014
- Ave Maria · 2004
- Fratres · 2018
- An Introduction to Amiata's New Music Series · 1996
Essential Albums
- Inspired by Gregorian chant, Renaissance polyphony, and plainsong, the so-called “mystic minimalism” of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt forever changed the landscape of contemporary classical music. Pärt found a broad audience with this groundbreaking 1984 release, which was overseen by visionary classical and jazz producer Manfred Eicher and released on the newly formed ECM New Series label. Combining the stark beauty of early music with contemporary minimalism, the recording brings “Fratres” in two forms—a haunting piano and violin duet performed by Keith Jarrett and Gidon Kremer and a swirling arrangement played by 12 Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic. The sorrowful “Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten” is set against the distant tolling bells; their ghostly, nautical sound bidding a somber farewell to the British composer known for his love of the sea. The double concerto “Tabula Rasa” is both mathematically precise and profoundly moving, with Kremer and fellow violinist Tatiana Grindenko developing exquisite melodic patterns over Alfred Schnittke’s prepared piano and a subtle—yet thunderously powerful—string chamber orchestra. In the words of Eicher, the recording marks “a truly electrifying encounter between the most unconventional stylists and protagonists of contemporary classical music and jazz.”
Music Videos
Artist Playlists
- The spiritual quality of this Estonian composer made him a star.
- 2024
- 2023
- 2021
About Arvo Pärt
Arvo Pärt became one of the great prophets of contemporary sacred music thanks to two things: Gregorian chant and Soviet oppression. The Estonian composer, born in 1935, studied at the Tallinn Conservatory. His modernist credentials were first displayed by scores such as the edgy collage piece “Pro et Contra” and Credo (1968), inspired by verses from St Matthew’s Gospel. In reaction to being interrogated by the authorities to explain the latter work’s “political aim”, Pärt invented a new style of polyphonic composition. His tintinnabuli works, named for their bell-like sonorities, began with “Für Alina” in 1976 and mushroomed the following year with a surge of essential pieces, including “Fratres”, “Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten”, “Summa” and “Tabula Rasa”. After leaving the Soviet Union in 1980 and settling in West Berlin, the composer captured a cult following thanks to Manfred Eicher’s ECM Records. Works such as Kanon Pokajanen, Passio, “The Deer’s Cry” and “Adam’s Lament” found a mass audience hungry for spiritual experiences yet alienated from religion, leading Pärt to become one of the world’s most frequently performed composers.
- HOMETOWN
- Paide, Estonia
- BORN
- 11 September 1935
- GENRE
- Classical