The Opera Tattler

The 90th birthday of composer Avro Pärt

* Notes *

The Estonian Festival Orchestra conducted by Paavo Järvi were joined by a number of soloists at Carnegie Hall last night to celebrate the 90th birthday of composer Avro Pärt (pictured, photograph courtesy of Eric Marinitsch/Arvo Pärt Centre) with a program entirely of his works.

Hearing all these pieces together was an intense experience, running the emotional gambit of tears, chills, and hilarity. Maestro Järvi gets an incredible dynamic range from the orchestra, the quiet parts of the music were particularly impressive and the rests were held quite gloriously. There is so much in these silences, especially the final ones.

I have a soft spot for Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten, as I was in a choreography that used this music as a young person, my first exposure to Pärt. The performance started with this piece, and the bell that starts and ends the work sounded absolutely perfect, so clear and under control. This certainly set the tone for the rest of the evening, which included pieces that employed the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, violinists Midori and Hans Christian Aavik, and the pianist Nico Muhly.

Tabula rasa featured the violinists and pianist, and was a highlight of the show. Midori is ferocious, and Aavik matched her well. The second movement had me in tears. Pärt’s music is lush with sound and then simply melts into silence.

I also really loved hearing Credo with the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, the Trinity Choir, and pianist Nico Muhly. The brash fun of the piece with all the references to Bach’s Prelude in C Major from The Well-Tempered Clavier made me laugh.

The encore was another piece by Pärt, with singing and orchestra, “Estonian Lullaby,” which was very lovely and gave me the chills.

* Tattling *

There was very little talking during the performance, which I appreciated. The audience was rather exposed in those long silences, and there were definitely times when people dropped things (during Tabula rasa, for instance) or when electronic sounds were heard.

There was a ton of shushing during the final encore. Midori almost didn’t come out for her encore with Aavik and the orchestra, as the applause stopped. But as she was on her way to the stage, the audience did make an effort to continue the ovation.