Arvo Pärt at 90

Few composers have shaped the soundscape of our time quite like Arvo Pärt. Often described as the sound of silence, his music emerged from censorship, inner exile, and spiritual resistance under Soviet rule. Now 90, and the most widely performed living composer, Pärt’s works speak with renewed urgency as Europe once again faces war on its borders. In this feature, Paavo Järvi—who quite literally grew up at the Pärt family table—shares personal memories that reveal not only the composer, but the Estonia that shaped his voice: music of faith, fragility, and quiet defiance.