Arvo Pärt: Symphonien Nr.1-4

The four symphonies of Arvo Pärt were composed over the course of forty-five years and have little or nothing to do with each other - four separate pieces representing his work at different moments in his creative career. The First Symphony was composed in 1963, shortly after Pärt completed his studies at the Conservatory of Tallinn. The two-part structure is reminiscent of the Baroque - canons and prelude and fugue - but the harmonic language is extremely progressive and shows clear traces of twelve-tone serialism. The Second Symphony from 1966 in three parts again uses a combination of serialism and textures reminiscent of Penderecki and the Polish school. The Third Symphony (1971), also in three parts, reflects the time Pärt spent studying medieval chants and music in the late 1960s. Symphony No. 4 "Los Angeles" was composed much later (2007-2008) and is stylistically directly inspired by sacred music. Pärt modelled it on two great litanies of the Orthodox Church: the Canon of Repentance and the Canon to the Holy Guardian Angel. This latter work, which is unusually composed for strings, harp, timpani and percussion, is also divided into three parts.