An Estonian composer, one of the "holy minimalists". ECM inaugurated
its New Series with a recording of his works; he fits in with their tradition
of accessible contemporary European art musics. Pärt's "holy" comes via
conversion to the Russian Orthodox Church (he once lived in a monastery), but he's often coy about discussing any religious significance to his work. Austere, contemplative music, rooted in the West's liturgical past, but not without the dissonances of modernism.