Arvo Pärt

Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, who was born in 1935, ranks among those composers who have made a lasting change on people's thinking about the nature of music. The timeless beauty and deep spiritual message of Pärt's music has made an impact on audiences worldwide regardless of nationality, cultural background or age. His music is not only performed in concert halls: over the past decades it has also regularly been featured on film soundtracks and in dance and theatre productions. Within the broader style of minimalism, he is associated with the composition technique known as tintinnabuli. He was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1996 and was honoured with the European Church Music Award in 2005.