Arvo Pärt: Alina
Composer
Released
The music of Arvo Pärt has been a touchstone for ECM since the label began its classical-leaning New Series label in 1984 with Tabula rasa. And yet, while that and subsequent recordings have often favored large-scale works like the Estonian composer’s Te Deum and Miserere, there is something even grander about the bare essentials represented in Alina, which interlaces two iterations of the title composition for solo piano between three versions of Spiegel im Spiegel for violin (or cello) and piano. The effect is as flowing as it is austere, capturing the essence of Pärt’s uncompromising approach to harmony.