ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½

Michael Pärt tells Kate Molleson about his father’s musical breakthrough.

Composer of the Week celebrates the 90th birthday of Arvo Pärt, one of the world’s most-performed and recognisable living composers. A composer who had the courage to defy Soviet edicts, to spend years searching for answers, to invent a personal language that pivots on past and present, on sound, silence and clarity. Throughout the week, Kate Molleson explores Pärt’s landmark works and extraordinary story in conversation with his son Michael. And researchers from the Arvo Pärt Centre in Laulasmaa, Estonia provide exclusive insights into Pärt’s more personal archive.

Today, we hear about the breakthrough moment in 1976 when Pärt discovered the musical language he had sacrificed years of silence searching for. Michael tells us about this technique, tintinnabuli, which has informed his father’s composing ever since and creates his trademark sonority. And archivist Kristina Kõrver reveals a crucial ingredient in Pärt’s journey – his musical diaries.

Arbos (for recorders)
The Flautadors

Für Alina
Alice Sara Ott, piano

Summa
Attacca Quartet

Fratres
Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic

Tabula Rasa (i. Ludus)
Gidon Kremer, violin
Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra
Saulus Sondeckis, conductor

Missa Syllabica
Theatre of Voices
Paul Hillier, conductor

Produced by Amelia Parker for ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Audio Wales and West