In 1997, the Icelandic singer-songwriter, Björk, interviewed the Estonian composer, Arvo Pärt, for a BBC documentary called “Modern Minimalists”; Estonian World reshares the short interview.
In 1997, at the peak of her global fame, the Icelandic artist, Björk, made an appearance on a short BBC documentary called “Modern Minimalists”, which includes the people she believed changed the direction of music making at that time. She interviewed Alasdair Malloy (UK), Mika Vainio (Finland) and Arvo Pärt, the most successful Estonian composer of all time and one of the most performed living composers in the world for the past ten years.
Björk Guðmundsdóttir, born and raised in Reykjavík, began her music career at the age of 11 and first gained international recognition as the lead singer of the alternative rock band, The Sugarcubes. After the band’s 1992 breakup, Björk embarked on a successful solo career, coming to prominence with solo albums such as “Debut” (1993), “Post” (1995), and “Homogenic” (1997), while collaborating with a range of artists and exploring a variety of multimedia projects.
Arvo Pärt is celebrating his 85th birthday this year. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs his self-invented compositional technique, tintinnabuli. Pärt’s music is in part inspired by Gregorian chant. His most performed works include “Fratres” (1977), “Spiegel im Spiegel” (1978), and “Für Alina” (1976). From 2011 to 2018, Pärt was the most performed living composer in the world, and the second most performed in 2019.
Read more: Sounds emanating love – the story of Arvo Pärt.
Cover: Arvo Pärt/Björk collage.
