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. At tomorrow’s concert, Friends in Music, they will perform a number of Pärt’s best-known and most cherished works.
The performers appearing at Friends in Music on 29 November include countertenor David James, cellist Anja Lechner, pianist Alexei Lubimov, organist Christopher Bowers-Broadbent, and Estonian musicians Harry Traksmann, Marrit Gerretz-Traksmann and Iris Oja. The second half of the concert will feature the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra conducted by Tõnu Kaljuste in a selection of Pärt’s essential orchestral works.
“Among those who perform Arvo Pärt’s music are interpreters who were there when these works first came into being, who received the composer’s own guidance, and who have developed a deep understanding of the music’s inner core and distinctive sound,” said Kai Kutman of the Arvo Pärt Centre. “This concert at the Arvo Pärt Centre does not bring all of them together, but it does reunite many of the musicians to whom the composer is grateful for their understanding and commitment.”
Pianist Alexei Lubimov has been a long-standing kindred spirit, performing Pärt’s music since the 1960s even under the restrictive conditions of the Soviet era. He was among the first prominent pianists to perform Pärt’s piano works. Lubimov and the SWR Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra also made the first recording of the piano concerto Lamentate, released by ECM in 2005.
After Pärt emigrated to the West, his collaboration with the British vocal group The Hilliard Ensemble began in the mid-1980s. They became the principal performers and recording artists of his tintinnabuli works for several decades, and their interpretations formed a kind of ideal and reference point. Pärt’s My Heart’s in the Highlands is dedicated to the ensemble’s founding member, countertenor David James, and will be performed at the concert.
Through The Hilliard Ensemble, Pärt also began working with British organist Christopher Bowers-Broadbent, whose contribution has extended beyond performance to advising the composer on organ registration. Pärt was first brought together with The Hilliard Ensemble by Manfred Eicher, founder and director of ECM Records. Most of the premieres and nearly twenty author albums of Pärt’s music have been released in collaboration with ECM. Through Eicher, Pärt’s music reached cellist Anja Lechner, who since the late 1990s has performed his quartet repertoire with the Rosamunde Quartet and collaborated with many other musicians, among them Alexei Lubimov.
Since the late 1980s, Tõnu Kaljuste has consistently featured Pärt’s music in the programmes of the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, both founded by him. Their joint performances and recordings have earned international acclaim and numerous awards, establishing them as world-renowned groups whose interpretations have significantly shaped the performance practice of Pärt’s works. Fellow travellers on this artistic journey include TCO concertmaster Harry Traksmann, pianist Marrit Gerretz-Traksmann and mezzo-soprano Iris Oja, a long-time singer with the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and later a member of several ensembles led by Paul Hillier. The concert Friends in Music will include the seminal orchestral works Silouan’s Song, Orient & Occident, Trisagion, Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten and Festina lente.
The anniversary year events began in January, when Vox Clamantis, a group close to the composer, performed the world premiere of the choral version of Silouan’s Song under the direction of Jaan-Eik Tulve. Events marking Pärt’s 90th birthday will continue at the Arvo Pärt Centre through spring 2026.
Quotes from the performers appearing at the Arvo Pärt Centre:
Alexei Lubimov: “In Pärt’s music, there is only what is essential. It is so concentrated that it focuses solely on what matters most – only the necessary sounds, the necessary structure, nothing superfluous. For me, this means letting go of everything except the essence of the music – complete concentration on the work, merging with it, becoming it. When I play, I try to set aside my personal emotions so that the music can speak through me.”
David James: “The most important and valuable lesson Pärt’s music has taught me is the beauty of silence. As we all know, silence plays an extraordinarily important role in his works. It has taught me not to fear silence, but to embrace it.”
Christopher Bowers-Broadbent: “Although I was already an experienced musician, discovering Arvo Pärt’s music in the 1980s changed my perspective. Arvo’s complete command of his unique musical world demands total dedication from the performer, something I have always found deeply compelling.”
Anja Lechner: “For me, music is always a conversation – with the composer, with fellow musicians, with oneself, with the listeners, and with something else that cannot be expressed in words. In Pärt’s music, especially in Spiegel im Spiegel, I feel somehow guided. There is a quiet dialogue that takes place beyond words. Perhaps it is not exactly a prayer, yet it carries a similar sense of presence – of listening, trust, connection. His music contains a sense of peace that allows one to truly listen – not only to the sound itself but also to the space around it. When I play his music, I find peace.”