Review: Reinis Zariņš & Trio Palladio – Arvo Pärt: AREFA Piano Chamber Works

Arvo Pärt: AREFA - Piano Chamber Works

Label: Ondine

Arvo Pärt (b. 1935): Für Alina (1976):
1 Pärt: Für Alina (1976) 02:35
Pari intervallo (1976):
2 Pärt: Pari intervallo (1976) 05:06
Partita, Op. 2 (1958):
3 Pärt: Partita, Op. 2 (1958): I. Toccatina 00:43
4 Pärt: Partita, Op. 2 (1958): II. Fughetta 00:55
5 Pärt: Partita, Op. 2 (1958): III. Larghetto 03:33
6 Pärt: Partita, Op. 2 (1958): IV. Ostinato 02:00
Diagramme, Op. 11 (1964):
7 Pärt: Diagramme, Op. 11 (1964): I. Unruhig 02:55
8 Pärt: Diagramme, Op. 11 (1964): II. Ruhig 01:50
Variations for the Healing of Arinushka (1977):
9 Pärt: Variations for the Healing of Arinushka (1977) 05:17
Georgs Pelēcis (b. 1947): AREFA (2025):
10 Pelēcis: AREFA (2025) 04:27
Andrejs Selickis (b. 1960): La-Re-Fa Variations (2025):
11 Selickis: La-Re-Fa Variations (2025) 07:25
Arvo Pärt: Hymn to a Great City (1984) for two pianos:
12 Pärt: Hymn to a Great City (1984) for two pianos 04:14
Passacaglia (2003) for violin and piano:
13 Pärt: Passacaglia (2003) for violin and piano 04:15
Fratres (1980) for violin and piano:
14 Pärt: Fratres (1980) for violin and piano 11:02
Mozart-Adagio (1992) for violin, cello and piano:
15 Pärt: Mozart-Adagio (1992) for violin, cello and piano 06:43
Spiegel im Spiegel (1978) for cello and piano:
16 Pärt: Spiegel im Spiegel (1978) for cello and piano 09:51
Total Runtime 01:12:51

A tribute featuring two world premiere recordings – in honor of the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, the Latvian pianist Reinis Zariņš has recorded an album of chamber music for piano together with his two fellow musicians in the Trio Palladio: it is titled Arvo Pärt AREFA Piano Chamber Works and is truly captivating.

It is exciting, firstly, because the selected works span a very long period of Pärt’s compositional career – from the Partia Op. 2 of 1958 to the Passacaglia for Violin and Piano of 2003, over 45 years of piano music can be heard. In addition to Pärt’s ten works, the album features two compositions dedicated to him: AREFA by Georgs Pelēcis and La-Ra-Fa Variations by Andrejs Selickis, both written for Arvo Pärt’s 90th birthday last year and heard here for the first time in a recorded version.

The album is also exciting because the selection naturally includes popular pieces such as *Fratres* for violin and piano or *Spiegel im Spiegel* for cello and piano. However, the majority of the programme consists of works that are not heard very often, either in the concert hall or on recording. On the one hand, they showcase the breadth of Pärt’s creativity. This ranges from the tender ‘Für Alina’ and the meditative, tranquil ‘Pari intervallo’, through the dramatic, wild opening of the ‘Partita’ and the fragmented first movement of ‘Diagramme’ Op. 11, to the ‘Passacaglia’ – which at times seems atonal – resonating through the listening space with astonishing serenity, and the fresh *Hymn to a Great City* for two pianos, recorded by Reinis Zariņš together with his professor Raffi Kharajanyan.

Fratres, performed with great distinction by violinist Eva Bindere, comes across as dramatically fragmented and highly intense. Cellist Kristina Blaumane warms the listener’s heart with her bowing in ‘Mirror in Mirror’, as well as in the Mozart Adagio for violin, cello and piano.

Part’s ‘Variations for the Healing of Arinushka’ from 1977 are particularly moving. The tenderness of the music, but also the clever variations on octave scales with their accents and the shift from the minor key of the first three to the major key of the last three variations, immediately captivate the listener and certainly contributed to the recovery of Pärt’s daughter Ariina following an appendectomy.

The recording is, on the whole, very transparent. The trio is precisely positioned and the sound is very intimate. The naturalness of the instruments and their seemingly effortless placement on the stage allow the listener to relax back into their seat and enjoy the sounds.

A truly beautiful album in every respect. (Thomas Semmler, HighResMac)

Reinis Zarins, piano
Trio Palladio