Arvo Pärt: Finding his own voice (1958–1979)

The aim of the project is to compile the first part of a comprehensive monograph analysing Arvo Pärt's creative career up to his emigration in 1980. Several foreign authors have worked on this topic, but the proposed work would be the first study to be sensitively grounded in the local context and based on extensive archival work. The aim is to analyse the development of Pärt's creative style, place it in the wider context of Estonian cultural life and politics, and relate it to the trends of the time in the USSR and the West. The work is based on the archives of the Arvo Pärt Centre, which contain background information on Pärt's oeuvre as well as the composer's own reflections on the creation and reception of his works in the form of recorded interviews. The extensive collection of the composer's diaries is also invaluable. Only a very small part of this material has so far found its way into research. The first part of a comprehensive monograph will be completed by the end of 2025.