News

On 19 February, the Arvo Pärt Centre opens the exhibition Behind the Veil: Monastic Life on Mount Athos by the acclaimed Turkish photographer Ali Borovalı, offering a sensitive glimpse into the secluded life of the Orthodox monastic community in Greece. The spirituality of the monasteries of Mount Athos has also left a deep mark on Arvo Pärt’s work. The exhibition will remain open until 30 April.

The year 2026 marks 50 years since the birth of Arvo Pärt’s distinctive compositional style, tintinnabuli. The Arvo Pärt Centre will commemorate the occasion with a film screening, a listening session, a special exhibition and the publication of a collection of essays.

The classical music website Bachtrack has published its annual list of classical music concerts around the world in 2025, which once again places Arvo Pärt as the world’s most performed contemporary composer.

At a ceremony held yesterday at Vabamu, Minister of Culture Heidy Purga presented the Friend of Culture 2025 awards, recognising businesses and benefactors who have contributed to the cultural sector. The Arvo Pärt Centre and its endowment extend their heartfelt thanks and congratulations to their supporters, the software company Proekspert and American composer and conductor Blake Neely, who were both honoured with the Friend of Culture award.

Arvo and Nora Pärt and the Arvo Pärt Centre mourn the passing of the versatile and brilliant musicologist, Professor Emeritus of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, and a dear friend and colleague of Arvo Pärt, Academician Jaan Ross (1957-2026).

The Arvo Pärt Centre announces an open call for three residency scholarships for creative work in Laulasmaa. Applications are open until 28 February.

Estelon, a long-standing supporter of the Arvo Pärt Centre and an Estonian manufacturer of high-quality loudspeakers, has provided the Centre with a new pair of AURA loudspeakers.

Arvo Pärt’s 90th birthday year brings to the Arvo Pärt Centre a distinguished group of performers to whom the composer is deeply grateful for their insight into, and dedication to, his music.

The festival Les Boréales takes place from 13 to 23 November in Caen and other locations across Normandy. One of Europe’s largest multidisciplinary festivals dedicated to Nordic and Baltic culture, it gives a special prominence this year to the music of Arvo Pärt within its broad Estonian programme.

Arvo and Nora Pärt, along with the Arvo Pärt Centre team, are commemorating Thomas Daniel Schlee, an Austrian composer, organist and musical figure (26/10/1957 – 10/11/2025).

Today, 11 November, sees the opening in Oxford of a wide-ranging festival dedicated to the music of Arvo Pärt, 90 Years of Arvo Pärt: A REFLECTION. Taking place at various venues across the university city, the six-day festival focuses on the composer’s tintinnabuli works as he marks his 90th birthday this year. The festival is organised by Music at Oxford in collaboration with the Arvo Pärt Centre, the Estonian Embassy in London and the Estonian Ministry of Culture. The patron of the festival is Estonia’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom, H.E. Sven Sakkov.

The Arvo Pärt Centre Endowment invited patrons of the arts from Estonia and the United States to attend Arvo Pärt's 90th birthday concerts at Carnegie Hall. The evening began with a charity dinner, joined by cultural figures and entrepreneurs from Estonia and around the world, including Estonian President Alar Karis and Minister of Culture Heidy Purga.