Arvo Pärt
Biography
Arvo Pärt (Estonian pronunciation: [ˈɑrʋo ˈpært]; born September 11, 1935) is an Estonian composer of classical and religious music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs tintinnabuli, a compositional technique he invented. His most performed works include Fratres (1977), Spiegel im Spiegel (1978), and Für Alina (1976). From 2011 to 2018, Pärt was the most performed living composer in the world, and the second most performed in 2019. The Arvo Pärt Centre, in Laulasmaa, was opened to the public in 2018. Pärt's music is in part inspired by Gregorian chant.
Known For & Full Filmography12 Titles
Movie - 1996, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
An up-close look into the life of the often misunderstood movie director Grigori Kromanov through the lens of old friends and colleagues.
Movie - 2015, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
Maestro follows Grammy award-winning conductor Paavo Järvi and an array of brilliant musicians as they perform to sold-out music halls across the world.
Movie - 2002, 2h 15m • as Himself
Documentary covering three years in the life of composer Arvo Pärt.
Movie - 2021, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
Dabiz Riaño explores the scenic lakes of Eastern Europe in this ode to being differently-abled and the wonder of being alive.
Movie - 1976, 2h 15m • as Piano Player at the Restaurant
In 1921, the Cheka became aware that gold and jewelry were stolen from the treasury of Gokhran, and that a special organization was involved in transporting the stolen to Estonia. Scout Maksim Isayev is sent to this country. He establishes that the cipher of the Soviet embassy Olenetskaya works for the German resident Nolmar, with whom employees of Gokhran Kozlovskaya and an appraiser Yakov Shelekhes are associated. As a result of the provocation, Isayev was arrested. In the prison cell, he finds himself together with the famous Russian writer Nikandrov, who could not find himself in post-revolutionary Russia and went abroad. Released soon by the efforts of his comrades, Isayev continues the struggle for the fate of Nikandrov — for his return to his homeland.
Movie - 1978, 2h 15m • as Self (uncredited)
Records the rehearsals and performance of Pärt's "Italian Concerto" by the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra during the Festival of Early and Contemporary Music in Tallinn.
Movie - 2019, 2h 15m • as Himself
The great composer Arvo Pärt at work, whilst the artists who perform his music and are inspired by it illustrate the different aspects of the phenomenon the man is.
Movie - 1990, 2h 15m • as Himself
Arvo Pärt is regarded as one of the most original avant-garde composers. This documentary shows Pärt as a deeply spiritual man whose work is bound up with his religious beliefs. Both he and his music defy classification, and he is determined to preserve his aura of mystery.
Movie - 2025, 2h 15m • as Self (uncredited)
Jaan Tootsen’s documentary follows President Toomas Hendrik Ilves in the last year and a half of his term in office – as he grapples with the complexities of world politics and his private life. Tootsen’s keen camera eye follows Ilves at his most difficult moments, showing no mercy, but creating a gripping, rather harsh and at the same time very human portrait of the President.
Movie - 2015, 2h 15m • as Himself
Documentary about now 80-years old composer Arvo Pärt and his music, philosophy and family.
Movie - 2009, 2h 15m • as Himself
On the way through a world of sounds and noise – with Manfred Eicher, the oustanding discoverer and mediator of contemporary music and founder of the music label ECM. On this journey we are meeting musicians and composers, but also people and places which are connected with him and with each other. We are encountering stories, landscapes, cities, disputes and hugs, tranquillity, hectic pace, work, self-doubt, joy, passion.
Movie - 2015, 2h 15m • as Himself
He is the most performed contemporary composer in the world. And yet he rarely ventures out in public, prefers to keep quiet about his music, feels at home in the forests of Estonia and generates therewith - perhaps involuntarily - the impression of a recluse, which is attributed to him again and again: Arvo Part. In The Lost Paradise, we follow him over a period of one year in his native Estonia, to Japan and the Vatican. The documentary is framed by the stage production of Adam's Passion, a music theater piece based on the Biblical story of the fall of Adam featuring three key works by Arvo Part. The world-renowned director Robert Wilson has brought this work to the stage in a former submarine factory in Tallinn. Tracing their creative process, the film offers rare and personal insights into the worlds of two of the most fascinating personalities in the international arts and music scene.