February 11, 2026
Photo: estonianworld.com
The Estonian Orthodox composer Arvo Pärt has once again been named the world’s most performed living composer, according to the annual rankings published by Bachtrack, a British platform that analyzes global classical music programming, reports the Basilica News Agency.
Pärt has been honored with this distinction many times. He turned 90 years old last year.
Last year, five of his works—Fratres, Da pacem Domine, Magnificat, Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten, and the choral piece Tribute to Caesar—ranked among the 10 most performed contemporary compositions worldwide.
In total, more than 1,100 concerts and six dedicated festivals featuring his music were recorded in 2025. His works are also prominently featured in the 2025–2026 season at Carnegie Hall, while the Leipzig Gewandhaus has named him composer-in-residence for 2025–2027.
Orthodoxy stands at the core of Arvo Pärt’s artistic identity. After a deep creative crisis in the 1960s, he converted to the Orthodox faith in 1972. Years of silence and study of Gregorian chant and medieval polyphony followed, leading to the development of his distinctive tintinnabuli style, marked by simplicity, restraint, and spiritual focus inspired by hesychasm.
Pärt’s mature works frequently set Orthodox liturgical texts, including Kanon Pokajanen and Triodion, and are often described as forms of musical prayer. A major influence on his spiritual and artistic formation was St. Sophrony of Essex, whom he met in England in the 1980s, during his years in exile in the West.
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