Last week Arvo Pärt finished one of his rare visits to the US within the Arvo Pärt Project where he was present at a series of sold out concerts on the East Coast including concerts at the Kennedy Centre and Carnegie Hall.
Pärts music was performed by the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir led by his longtime collaborator Tõnu Kaljuste. Pärt also joined lectures at the George Washington University where respected professors spoke about the spiritual foundations of Pärt’s signature compositional style, the spiritual in music and the relationship between affect and devotion.
The last event of Arvo Pärt Project will be held on 11 June at the Metropolitan Museum of Art consisting of a panel discussion on the topic “Spirit in Sound and Space: A Conversation Inspired by Arvo Pärt“ aiming at bringing light at the spiritual world of Pärt’s music.
Pärt was the most played composer in 2013 three years in a row. He received an honorary doctorate from St. Vladimir’s Seminary at the concert at Carnegie Hall, his fifth after he received the same honour from universities in Sydney in 1996, Tart in 1998, Durham in 2003 and St. Andrews University in 2010.
Listen to the composition Tabula Rasa released 1984 by ECM Records.