Arvo Pärt: Alina

Copy at Case Memorial Library
Contents: Spiegel im Spiegel [Mirror in the mirror] performed twice in the original version for violin and piano, and once in the arrangement for violoncello and piano; Für Alina, for piano, performed in an extended, improvisatory version, from which the composer selected 2 sections to be inserted between the 3 interpretations of Spiegel im Spiegel. Recorded July 1995 in Frankfurt.
Personnel: Vladimir Spivakov, violin; Dietmar Schwalke, violoncello ; Sergej Bezrodny, piano; Alexander Malter, piano.
Ardella Crawford wrote in Classical Music: The Listener's Companion: "[Pärt's] earliest works were mostly instrumental, some in a neoclassical style … later he took up serialism. In 1968 he entered a silent period, unbroken (except for his transitional Symphony 3) until 1976, when he wrote a brief piano piece, Für Alina. With this, which followed a thorough study of Gregorian chant and other music of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, Pärt began composing in the austere, serene style that now distinguishes his music" (p. 692).