At the end of May and beginning of June, the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra with conductor Tõnu Kaljuste performed the music of Arvo Pärt at four concerts in the United States – two in Washington, DC, and two in New York City. Accompanied by a high-profile delegation from Estonia, including the Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Pärt also attended the concerts. The concerts took place at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall in Washington, at the Phillips Collection, also in Washington, and in New York at the world-renowned Carnegie Hall and the Metropolitan Museum. The concerts were a huge success, with The Washington Post and New York Classical Review giving praising reviews. The endless applause at the Carnegie Hall concert in New York emotionally marked the first time that the world famous Carnegie Hall was filled with a music by an Estonian composer, performed by Estonian musicians. EstonianWorld’s Kris Lillemets attended the concerts at The Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall and took few shots.
Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves saying few words after the Kennedy Center concert in Washington, D.C.
Estonia’s ambassador to the United States, Marina Kaljurand.
Arvo Pärt meeting the admirers of his music after the concert at The Kennedy Center.
Arvo Pärt meeting the admirers of his music after the concert at The Kennedy Center.
Group of Estonians, including the President and The First Lady of Estonia, after the concert in Washington, D.C.
The queue outside New York’s Carnegie Hall before the Pärt concert.
Conductor Tõnu Kaljuste at the Carnegie Hall.
Group of New York’s Estonian expats have gathered to enjoy the music of Pärt at the Carnegie Hall.
Kristi Roosmaa Tootell, Estonian Cultural Affairs Coordinator in New York, and Anu Lill, a New York-based Estonian journalist, at the Carnegie Hall concert.
New York-based St. Vladimir’s Seminary presented Pärt with an honorary doctorate title on sacred music. The ceremony also took place at the Carnegie Hall. Here, Arvo Pärt is presented with an abstract piece “Portrait of Arvo Pärt.”
Pärt’s speech at the reception in Carnegie Hall.
Consulate General of Estonia in New York Sten Schwede, Dr. Peter C. Bouteneff and Dr Nicholas Reeves of the Arvo Pärt Project at St. Vladimir’s Seminary, Nora Pärt, Tõnu Kaljuste, Arvo Pärt, Reet Remmel (advisor at the Estonian Ministry of Culture) at the Kennedy Center.
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Cover photo: sold out Carnegie Hall.
For more photos of the events, see Kris Lillemets Photography.
