Arvo Pärt: Spiegel im Spiegel [Import]

Arvo Part (Composer), Tonu Kaljuste (Conductor), Neeme Järvi (Conductor), Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet (Performer), Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), Hans-Ola Ericsson (Performer), Angela Yoffe (Performer), Aleksei Lubimov (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet, Hans-Ola Ericsson, Angela Yoffe, Aleksei Lubimov
• Orchestra: Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Tonu Kaljuste, Neeme Järvi
• Composer: Arvo Part
• Audio CD (June 28, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Bis
• ASIN: B0009VI5CK
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #106,559 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #27 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Modern, 20th, & 21st Century > Instruments > Keyboard > Piano

Track Listings

1. Fratres, for violin & piano

2. Dopo la vittoria, little cantata for chorus

3. Bogoróditse dyévo (Hail Mary), for chorus

4. I Am the True Vine, for chorus

5. Annum per annum, for organ

6. Spiegel im Spiegel, for violin & piano

7. Variations for the Healing of Arinushka, for piano

8. Für Alina, for piano

9. Quintettino, for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn & bassoon, Op. 13: I. Schnell

10. Quintettino, for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn & bassoon, Op. 13: II. Langsam

11. Quintettino, for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn & bassoon, Op. 13: III. Mässig

12. Concerto piccolo over B-A-C-H, for trumpet, strings, harpsichord & piano: I. Preciso

13. Concerto piccolo over B-A-C-H, for trumpet, strings, harpsichord & piano: II. Lento

14. Concerto piccolo over B-A-C-H, for trumpet, strings, harpsichord & piano: III. Deciso

15. Fratres, for string quartet

16. Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten, for string orchestra & bell

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars sui generis, November 10, 2007

By 

Mr. Robert Hamilton "Rob Hamilton" (Hazelbrook Blue Mountains Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Arvo Pärt: Spiegel im Spiegel (Audio CD)

I first heard this CD on ABC Radio when driving to work from the Blue Mountains to Sydney - a weekly 1000 km. Of course once I'd heard it I had to have it! Others have written about the musicological features of this composer's work so there's really nothing I can add to their more informed opinions. It is simply ethereal music from another dimension and after hearing the high-quality BIS production, I'm gradually acquiring more of Part's music and look forward to spending more time learning about the composer as well as enjoying the music, which is, sui generis.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Blissful Peace - or Water Torture?, January 30, 2007

By 

K. J. Evans "jake" (New Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Arvo Pärt: Spiegel im Spiegel (Audio CD)

These are tranquil tones - excellent background for meditation or foreground for focused listening. This music has brought tears, it is that beautiful. But it's very minimal, too. A friend of mine (a second-hand listener from across the room) was plagued by the measured "pling-pling" notes - all she could really hear from a distance. It's lovely - but take it in sips, not gulps.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great CD, for the Most Part, January 10, 2009

By 

Ken C. (MA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Arvo Pärt: Spiegel im Spiegel (Audio CD)

If you collect Arvo Part CDs like me, you've figured out that they're not unique. That is, certain pieces appear on more than one CD and in different company. This is true of SPIEGEL IM SPIEGEL.

The CD's first and fifteenth tracks are renditions of the lovely "Fratres." The first version is for violin and piano, and Vadim Gluzman and Angela Yoffe respectively pick up the tempo a bit. Compare to the more measured performance of the Talinn String Quartet. Equally satisfying.

Also memorable is the final cut, "Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten." This is one of Part's more famous works and deservedly so. The Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra is up to the task.

The title piece, "Spiegel im Spiegel," is a slow, meditative piece reminiscent of the East. I love to write by it, but you may meditate, read, space out, or sit in a dark room and sip wine by it. You get the idea.

My only disappointment is with the inclusion of the 1964 "Quintettino, Op. 13." It's one of those experimental pieces that sound like an orchestra warming up -- not up to Part's later stuff which is some of the finest being written in the modern age.

Overall, SPIEGEL IM SPIEGEL deserves a space on your CD shelf.