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.
“Arvo Pärt’s music has lived with me (and in me) for 37 years so far, and its ability to speak to millions of people is very special and quite remarkable, and a testament both to Pärt’s unwavering artistic conviction,” said Rebecca Dawson, Artistic and Executive Director of Music at Oxford.
Running from 11 to 16 November, the festival brings together distinguished ensembles from the United Kingdom and Estonia, including The Carice Singers under the direction of George Parris, the Merton College Choir, Britten Sinfonia, the ensemble Vox Clamantis and the M4gnet Quartet along with the pianist Sten Heinoja. Events will be held in venues across Oxford: in college concert halls and churches, the 17th-century Sheldonian Theatre, the Town Hall and the Ultimate Picture Palace arthouse cinema.
“We are truly delighted that Music at Oxford has chosen such a magnificent and beautiful way to celebrate Arvo Pärt’s birthday in the United Kingdom. His music has many admirers all over the world, and it is deeply rewarding to hear it performed at such a high level,” said Sven Sakkov, Estonia’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom.
The opening concert features the Merton College Choir and the acclaimed British chamber orchestra Britten Sinfonia, performing one of Pärt’s best-known works, Fratres, as well as the Berliner Messe, alongside music by John Tavener and Joseph Haydn. For the first time in more than a decade, the Estonian ensemble Vox Clamantis returns to the United Kingdom for a concert with organist Peter Holder, performing works by Pärt alongside Helena Tulve’s Gloria and Tõnis Kaumann’s Ave Maria.
On 15 November, local children’s choirs and the festival chamber ensemble will give the UK premiere of the new arrangement of Pärt’s children’s cantata Meie aed (Our Garden) by Tauno Aints. The programme also includes Pärt’s songs for children.
In collaboration with the Arvo Pärt Centre, the festival presents a series of talks and discussions exploring the composer’s work. Screenings include Dorian Supin’s 2002 documentary Arvo Pärt: 24 Preludes for a Fugue, followed by a conversation with countertenor and long-time Pärt interpreter David James, joined by Michael Pärt, the composer’s son and chairman of the Arvo Pärt Centre’s supervisory board, offering a more personal perspective on his father’s music. Musicologists Kristina Kõrver and Maarja Tyler from the Arvo Pärt Centre will speak about the values and ideals underlying Pärt’s work and how these are expressed musically, drawing on his musical notebooks and the piece Spiegel im Spiegel.
“It is a great pleasure to collaborate with such an exciting and high-calibre festival and to share once again with Oxford audiences the fruits of our archival work and recent discoveries. The lectures and concerts at the Pärt festival held three years ago left a lasting impression for their inspiring atmosphere and deeply engaged listeners. I am especially delighted that, alongside Arvo Pärt’s music, this year’s programme also features other Estonian composers, such as Tüür, Kõrvits, Sumera, Tulve and Kaumann, and that several concerts offer fascinating dialogues between the music of Estonia and the United Kingdom,” said Kristina Kõrver, Researcher and Archive Specialist at the Arvo Pärt Centre.
Oxford previously hosted a large-scale festival dedicated to Arvo Pärt in 2022, titled Arvo Pärt… and a Littlemore. Since 2016, Arvo Pärt has held an honorary degree from the University of Oxford.
The lecture, delivered by musicologists from the Arvo Pärt Centre, is supported by the Cross-Sectoral Mobility Measure (funded by the Estonian Research Council).