Pärt's concert in Konzerthaus Berlin a success
Arvo Pärt's composer concert in the German capital was performed in front of a full house on Tuesday night.
Coinciding with President Ilves's state visit to Germany, President Joachim Gauck and Bundestag President Norbert Lammert also attended the concert at the Konzerthaus Berlin.
The concert, entitled "Arvo-Pärt-Hommage", included "Te Deum", which celebrated the beginning of twenty years of collaboration between Pärt and conductor Tõnu Kaljuste, as well as "Adam's Lament", the recording of which saw Kaljuste awarded with a Grammy in 2014.
In addition to the two masterpieces, the program included a performance of "Salve Regina", written for the 75th birthday of Dr. Hubert Luthe, Bishop of Essen Cathedral and for the 1150th anniversary of the city of Essen, as well as one of Pärt's earliest, yet most performed orchestral works “Cantus in Memoriam of Benjamin Britten”.
President Ilves, who gave a reception after the performance, thanked Pärt, Kaljuste, the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, the Arvo Pärt Centre, and others who supported the concert. Ilves gave President Gauck a photo taken by Nora Pärt on November 9, 1989, depicting a smiling Pärt sitting in his home in Berlin and watching the fall of the Berlin Wall on TV. “We have now brought Arvo Pärt back to Berlin,” Estonian president said.
Pärt spent his most important creative years in Berlin. Although the internationally recognized composer first discovered his famous tintinnabuli style in Tallinn – in his apartment in Mustamäe – he continued to develop and fine-tune his style in Berlin where a major number of his most well-known works were composed.
Editor: S. Tambur