Arvo Pärt: Complete Symphonies Iceland Symphony Orchestra & Eva Ollikainen

• Arvo Pärt (b. 1935): Symphony No. 1, Op. 9 "Polyphonic":
• 1 Pärt: Symphony No. 1, Op. 9 "Polyphonic": I. Kanon 09:08
• 2 Pärt: Symphony No. 1, Op. 9 "Polyphonic": II. Preludio e fuga 07:20
• Symphony No. 2:
• 3 Pärt: Symphony No. 2: I. Crotchet = 104 - 120 04:48
• 4 Pärt: Symphony No. 2: II. Minim = 112 02:36
• 5 Pärt: Symphony No. 2: III. Crotchet = 48 - 60 05:05
• Symphony No. 3:
• 6 Pärt: Symphony No. 3: I. Crotchet = 66 06:15
• 7 Pärt: Symphony No. 3: II. Minim = 54 - 56 05:44
• 8 Pärt: Symphony No. 3: III. Minim = 60 08:07
• Symphony No. 4 "Los Angeles":
• 9 Pärt: Symphony No. 4 "Los Angeles": I. Con sublimità 09:24
• 10 Pärt: Symphony No. 4 "Los Angeles": II. Affannoso 10:44
• 11 Pärt: Symphony No. 4 "Los Angeles": III. Insistentemente 07:32
• Total Runtime 01:16:43

Info for Arvo Pärt: Complete Symphonies

The four symphonies of Arvo Part were composed over a span of forty-five years, and bear little or no relationship with one another - four individual pieces that represent his output at separate parts of his creative journey. The First Symphony was composed in 1963, shortly after Part had graduated from the Tallinn Conservatory. It's two-movement structure looks to the baroque - Canons and a Prelude and Fugue - but the harmonic language is extremely advanced, giving off a distinct whiff of twelve-tone serialism. The Second Symphony, from 1966, in three movements, again employs a combination of serialism and textures hinting at Penderecki and the Polish school. Also in three movements, the Third Symphony (1971) reflects the time Part spent in the late 1960s studying chant and mediaeval music. Symphony No. 4 'Los Angeles' came much later (in 2007 - 08) and now the style is directly inspired by sacred music. Part took as his models two great litanies of the Orthodox Church: the Canon of Repentance, and the Canon to the Holy Guardian Angel. Unusually scored for strings, harp, timpani, and percussion, this final work is also cast in three movements. With her elegant, expressive body language, natural stage presence, and infectious musicality, Eva Ollikainen is one of the leading conductors of our time. This former student of Leif Segerstam and Jorma Panula has been Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra since 2020.

Iceland Symphony Orchestra
Eva Ollikainen, conductor

Eva Ollikainen
With her elegant, expressive body language, natural stage presence and infectious musicality, Eva Ollikainen is one of the leading conductors of our time. She has been Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra since 2020. Previously, she was Chief Conductor of the Nordic Chamber Orchestra.

Eva Ollikainen has appeared with orchestras such as the Wiener Symphoniker, DSO Berlin, Helsinki Philharmonic, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. She has also conducted at the Semperoper Dresden, Royal Danish Opera, Gothenburg Opera, Kungliga Operan Stockholm and the Finnish National Opera.

Highlights of the 22/23 season include her debuts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra in Walt Disney Concert Hall as well as the Hollywood Bowl, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de Belgique, and an extensive UK tour with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Philharmonic's centenary concert. Her debut at the 2022 Proms, which included the world premiere of Anna Thorvaldsdottir's ARCHORA, was hailed as a "performance of bold gestures and striking colours" by the Guardian.

A former student of Leif Segerstam and Jorma Panula at the Sibelius Academy, Eva Ollikainen won the Jorma Panula Conducting Competition at the age of 21. Today, the support of young musicians is close to her own heart. She teaches regularly at the Sibelius Academy and frequently leads master classes at institutions such as the Peabody Institute and the Royal Danish Academy of Music. She founded the Iceland Symphony Orchestra Conductors' Academy in 2021.

Booklet for Arvo Pärt: Complete Symphonies