Favourite Pärt Symphony

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

It seems as if there are many GMGers who love a good ol symphony, so here are the four that Pärt wrote over the course of forty-five years (1963 to 2008 according to wikpedia) for you to choose your favourite.

[Keep Going]

The Angels. 

[Cato]

Twenty years ago or so, my young son and I were in Cologne and heard the first three at a concert of the Koelner Philharmoniker with the composer in the audience.  They were separated by the three Leonore Overtures of Beethoven.  My son was 10 or 11 at the time, and he liked the Second Symphony, which features a fight with "squeak toys" in the percussion section.

The Third Symphony was a harbinger of Paert's Neo-Renaissance or Neo-Medieval style.  It was therefore a striking contrast to the first two.

[Mirror Image]

I voted for the 3rd. Such an excellent work. I just love the general atmosphere of it.

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

Twenty years ago or so, my young son and I were in Cologne and heard the first three at a concert of the Koelner Philharmoniker with the composer in the audience.  They were separated by the three Leonore Overtures of Beethoven.  My son was 10 or 11 at the time, and he liked the Second Symphony, which features a fight with "squeak toys" in the percussion section.

The Third Symphony was a harbinger of Paert's Neo-Renaissance or Neo-Medieval style.  It was therefore a striking contrast to the first two.

I voted for the first symphony but I can totally understand the appeal of the second symphony! It's a remarkable and highly inventive work which I think stands out in his oeuvre.