Pärt, Arvo

Pärt, Arvo, 1935–, Estonian composer, b. Paide; grad. Tallinn Conservatory (1963). He worked for Estonian radio (1958–67), left his homeland (1980, then part of the USSR), and settled in West Berlin (1982). His first pieces were traditional, but by the time he composed the orchestral Nekrolog (1960) Pärt was using the techniques of serial music. His early works include the Credo (1968) for piano, chorus, and orchestra and the Symphony No. 3 (1971). In 1976, Pärt made an abrupt change in his work. Inspired by Gregorian chant and Eastern Orthodox bell-ringing, he initiated a style he called tintinnabuli, which continues to characterize his work. It is strongly unitonal, minimal music in scales and broken triads that creates a balance of form and harmony and has rich mystical and religious overtones. Among his later works are the Fratres series (1976–) for various instruments, Tabula Rasa (1977), St. John Passion (1982), Magnificat (1989), Silovan's Song (1991), and Litany (1994). His meditative compositions have found a wide audience in the West.

Bibliography

See P. Hillier, Arvo Pärt (1997).

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Pärt, Arvo

(born Sept. 11, 1935, Paide, Est.) Estonian composer. After years of experimentation, he began in the late 1970s to produce his own distinctive music. A devoutly Orthodox Christian, he developed a style based on the slow modulation of sounds such as those produced by bells and pure voice tones, a technique reminiscent of the medieval Notre-Dame school and the sacred music of Eastern Orthodoxy. His major works include the violin concerto Tabula Rasa (1977), Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten (1977), Magnificat-Antiphones (1988), and The Beatitudes (1991).