20th century and todayArvo Pärt
Arvo Pärt was born in Estonia, a small country on the Baltic Sea.
Arvo Pärt’s life
The big moments of this life, and what was happening in the world at the same time.
A life at a glance
- 1935👶 Birth
Born in Paide, Estonia, on 11 September
- 1948🌍 Meanwhile
The long-playing record (LP) goes on sale
- 1957🎩 Careerage 22
Sound engineer at Estonian Radio
- 1960🎼 Workage 25
Nekrolog, the first Estonian twelve-tone work, criticised by the Soviet authorities
- 1963📚 Trainingage 28
Graduates from the Tallinn Conservatory
- 1964🌍 Meanwhile
Robert Moog presents his synthesizer
- 1968❤️ Private lifeage 33
Long period of silence: studies Gregorian chant and medieval music
- 1968🎼 Workage 33
Credo, banned for its religious text
- 1969🌍 Meanwhile
First steps on the Moon
- 1976🎼 Workage 41
Für Alina: birth of the ‘tintinnabuli’ style
- 1980🧳 Journeyage 45
Emigrates with his family to Vienna, then Berlin
- 1982🌍 Meanwhile
The compact disc (CD) is launched
- 1991🏛️ Landmarkage 56
Estonia regains its independence
- 2018🎩 Careerage 83
Opening of the Arvo Pärt Centre in Laulasmaa
Listen to the music
Press the big button to listen. Close your eyes: how does it make you feel?
Arvo Pärt’s music is still recent: it belongs to its creators and their families. Ask a grown-up to play it for you on the radio or at a concert!
Once upon a time…
Arvo Pärt was born in Estonia, a small country on the Baltic Sea. As a child he played on an old piano with some broken keys: he had to imagine other sounds!
He first worked as a sound engineer at the radio. Then he composed music about God, which was forbidden in his country at the time. For several years he composed very little and listened to medieval chants.
One day he invented a very simple style he called “tintinnabuli”, like the sound of little bells. His music is calm, slow and luminous. His piece Spiegel im Spiegel, “mirror in the mirror”, is played all over the world.
He is one of the living composers whose music is performed the most.
Arvo Pärt’s instruments
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