Symphony No. 4

"Arvo Part has found a beautiful simplicity in sound,. which feels fresh and contemporary, but yet speaks to vast numbers of people outside the introverted circles of 'new music'. His music is deeply of our time, but points to a timeless truth." -- James McMillan With his Symphony No. 4 Arvo Part retuns to symphonic structure and scope, in a new work scored for string orchestra, harp, tympani and percussion. The piece was commissioned and premiered by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra under Esa-Pekka Salonen in January 2009 almost forty years after his 3rd Symphony, and is the first symphonic work Prt has written since developing his "tintinnabulation" style. A composition in three movements, it opens with characteristically shimmering suspended chords, and an extraordinary journey begins. "The symphony is large," wrote Mark Swed in the Los Angeles Times, "and exceedingly beautiful." The 4th Symphony was recorded live at L.A,'s Walt Disney Concert Hall, and the 37 minute work is augmented on disc by a new montage of "fragments" of Kanon Pokajanen, a piece which Part feels is closely related to the symphony. "To my mind, the two works belong together and form a stylistic unity." Although the symphony was previously available as a download from Deutsche Grammophon, the present release marks its first appearance on compact disc, and will be released in time for the composer's 75th birthday (September 11).