When you seek from almost nothing
The Centre’s first permanent exhibition takes you on a journey into Arvo Pärt’s world of thought to introduce you to his ideas about silence, the word and sound written by the composer over the decades. These are the concepts that Pärt came up with in his search for his musical language, and that define the core of his creative technique: tintinnabuli. All composers face the same questions with blank music paper in front of them when they start searching from the very beginning, from almost nothing, and feel that they have a responsibility to the audience. The curators of the exhibition are Kai Kutman, Kristina Kõrver and Aile Tooming; The thoughts of Arvo Pärt used in the exhibition have been read out for the visually impaired by Arvo Pärt’s son, Immanuel Pärt, and can be listened to through the audio guide.
Display of manuscripts
The exhibition will accompany you on an imaginary journey with Arvo Pärt, leading you through a display that offers insight into the composer’s creative process through his manuscripts. The display features original manuscripts, from the first sketches in his musical diaries through the schemes and drafts showing the process of composition to a clean, final score. You can also see the only surviving record of Pärt’s artistic endeavours in fine art that helped him through his creative crisis: a painted flowerpot.
Tintinnabuli – A World on Music Paper
The exhibition offers every visitor an opportunity to engage more deeply with Arvo Pärt’s music regardless of their prior knowledge of his work. Tintinnabuli has made Arvo Pärt one of the most renowned and beloved composers worldwide. But what is this phenomenon, with a Latin-derived name that evokes ringing bells, and which has drawn thousands of listeners to concert halls, sparked passionate debates among professionals about contemporary music culture and even transformed lives? Interactive book pages bring Arvo Pärt’s musical world to life through descriptions, images, animations and soundscapes. The exhibition is organised in honour of Arvo Pärt’s jubilee year and marks his 90th birthday.
