The following interview with Arvo Pärt was conducted at the composer’s home at Mustamäe, November 28, 1978. Filmed by Andres Sööt, the dialogue (at times, Arvo’s wife Eleonora seconds his husband behind the screen) and the rehearsal of the soon-to-be-premiered Italian Concerto at the concert hall Estonia became the basis for the film-portrait entitled Arvo Pärt in November 1978. The conversation, which lasted more than an hour was painstakingly transribed and shows a rare glimpse in the mind of the composer… You can read it by clicking on the Articles tab of the Arvo Pärt Information Archive.

To listen to the album…

In the February 8 issue of The New Yorker, Alex Ross discusses the National Endowment for the Arts’ Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, which indicates that the number of people who venture out to classical music performances in a given year has been declining for almost three decades. Some organisations now offer classical concerts in jazz venues or cafés, like the famous Poisson rouge in New York. Is this the solution?

The British conductor Kenneth Woods tells us what sets Das Lied von der Erde apart from other works by Mahler. Is it autobiography?

”The beloved earth everywhere blossoms and greens in springtime, anew. Everywhere and forever the distances brighten blue! Forever… forever… These were the last words Mahler ever set to music, and, unlike the rest of the Song of the Earth, they were not those of an ancient poet, but his own. Mahler, the master of contradiction and paradox, ends a work that is so universal in scope with just the briefest hint of autobiography- almost  a secret confession, hidden in this epic panorama.”

To read the article…

To listen to the work, as performed by the OSM under Kent Nagano…

Anton Kuerti gave recitals and masterclasses last week in Austin and was most convincing in both roles. “Beethoven,” said Kuerti, “shows that by persevering you can achieve great things. If we look at his manuscripts we see that he often crossed things out and he often revised what he had done before. Composing for Beethoven was torture. But as with so many things in life, hard work and commitment pay off. Don’t give up.”

Paul E. Robinson talks about it here…

No, this is not the name of a new enterprise that specializes in albums forgotten on bench parks or the subway. It is a Website devoted to forgotten composers or forgotten music by otherwise great composers. As stated on their home page, “many classical collectors are now searching beyond the standard repertoire for more esoteric fare. There’s an abundance of it to be found in all those scores that down through the years have for one reason or another become lost to the general public.”

Analekta has long been aware of this need to step away from beaten tracks, as many recent releases demonstrate, whether it be the premiere of André Mathieu’s Concertino by Alain Lefèvre, Valérie Milot’s Harp Recital or Ensemble Caprice’s take on Telemann and the Baroque Gypsies or double bassist Joel Quarrington’s recital on Garden Scene.

Or how about discovering Théodore Dubois’ symphonic work, Adonis, a rather charming work, as played by the Orchestre de la francophonie…