We mourn the passing of a great Estonian poet and philosopher Jaan Kaplinski (22 January 1941 – 8 August 2021).
Jaan Kaplinski and Arvo Pärt were friends of many years, their friendship dating back to the 1970s. Although as artists they took different paths, there were invisible threads and a shared sense of culture that continued to unite them – “the same sea in all of us”.
Jaan Kaplinski visited the newly opened Arvo Pärt Centre in 2018 and brought with him a valuable family treasure, the Bible of Arvo Pärt’s grandparents from 1863 that the composer had left in his care before emigrating to the West. Even last year Jaan Kaplinski and his wife Tiia Toomet managed to visit Laulasmaa to meet their good friends and companions Arvo and Nora Pärt and to enjoy music together.
Arvo Pärt: “A great cultural treasure of Estonia has passed away unexpectedly. Unexpectedly, because despite his illness he maintained such a sharpness of mind and creativity I admired so much. Rest in peace, my dear friend!”
Our deepest condolences to his wife, children and all the loved ones!
Arvo and Nora Pärt and everybody at the centre