Symphony no. 4

Symphony No. 4, 'Los Angeles,' represents Arvo Pärt’s first symphonic work since 1971, marking a significant return to the form after decades focused on smaller choral and chamber pieces. Released in 2010, the work was commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and premiered under the baton of Esa-Pekka Salonen. Distinctively, Pärt dedicated the work to Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the imprisoned Russian businessman, infusing the music with a subtext of human rights and political mourning. Sonically, the symphony is scored for strings, harp, and percussion, eschewing woodwinds and brass to maintain a lean, transparent texture. Critics from The Guardian and BBC Music noted its 'austere beauty' and its departure from the more 'comforting' aspects of his earlier minimalism. The inclusion of 'Fragments from Kanon Pokajanen' on the recording bridges his instrumental and liturgical styles, cementing the album as a definitive statement of his late-period 'spiritual minimalism.'