Flotation Device celebrates 90th birthday of Arvo Pärt the prominent Estonian composer and exponent of spiritual minimalism. We revisit his famous tintinnabuli pieces of 1976–78 (including Tabula Rasa, the recording of which was often played by AIDS workers to comfort hospital patients at the height of the epidemic), as well as his early twelve-tone experiments and his later more conventionally-hewn orchestral and religious works, including the premiere recordings of Silhouette (inspired by the Eiffel Tower) and O Holy Father Nicholas (his final composition, written for the dedication of the National Shrine at the World Trade Center site). Some verbal reflections from Joan Tower and Pärt himself provide some context as does a kaleidoscopic sampling of his trademark piece Fratres in five different arrangements. We’re helped by Gidon Kremer, Keith Jarrett, Alfred Schnittke, Hortus Musicus, the Kronos Quartet, Neeme and Paavo Järvi, Vox Clamantis and the Estonian Festival Orchestra.
