Arvo Pärt was born in Paide in 1935. He is the first Estonian composer to achieve universal recognition at the present time.
So far since 1960, Pärt's works can be divided into three distinct periods and genres. By 1960 he was composing within the twelve-note system (also called dodecaphony, which is in my opinion one of the worst sounding forms of musical composition, bleughh!). This phase then gave way to experimentation with collage techniques but this was not enough of a solution to the stylistic crisis he was having at the time. So Pärt then withdrew from composition to study the music of the Renaissance, as well as Gregorian chant and Russian Orthodox church music. When he eventually emerged from his self-imposed silence, his style had transformed so radically that his previous music was unrecognisable as the work of the same composer. And it is this music which I have heard and like.
These are some examples of pieces in Pärt's later musical style and mood:
Spiegel im Spiegel (1978)
This is my favourite piece by Arvo Pärt, it is very simple yet extremely beautiful. Written for violin and piano, it is constructed from the most extreme basic elements. Over a piano accompaniment of broken chords with bell-like notes in varying registers, the violin provides a sustained melody in which phrases of increasing length and range always return to the note A. Ok, so it doesn't sound much, but you can't explain music, one has to hear it to really know what it sounds like, and trust me, this one is lovely.
Tabula rasa (1977)
This piece is scored for two solo violins, strings and prepared piano. The first movement, "Ludus", begins with the two solo violins playing simultaneously at the extremes of their range, and as the movement unfolds, the melodic range is gradually extended yet; again, the actual sound of the music is simplicity itself. The second movement, "Silentium", is more typical of Pärt's current musical approach in its totally static, contemplative mood. The texture becomes increasingly lighter until the scoring is reduced to merely a solo cello and solo double bass.
If you ever listen to any of Arvo Pärt's later music (I don't know what his earlier compositions sound like, so therefore cannot comment on them) it will probably be quite unlike anything you've ever heard before, but this time, THAT is a good thing.