Für Alina
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''Für Alina'' (English: ''For Alina'') is a work for piano composed by the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. It can be considered as an essential work of his tintinnabuli style.


History of composition

''Für Alina'' was first performed in
Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...
in 1976, along with six other works, after a long preparatory period in Pärt's life as a composer. This concert was the first to introduce his new signature style of composition, referred to as the tintinnabuli style. The title echoes Beethoven's piece for solo piano ''
Für Elise Bagatelle No. 25 in A minor ( WoO59, Bia515) for solo piano, commonly known as "Für Elise" (, ), is one of Ludwig van Beethoven's most popular compositions. It was not published during his lifetime, only being discovered (by Ludwig Nohl) 40 ye ...
''. While the identity of the dedicatee of Beethoven's work is unclear, ''Für Alina'' was dedicated to a family friend's eighteen-year-old daughter. The family had broken up and the daughter went to England with her father. The work, dedicated to the daughter, was actually meant as a work of consolation for the girl's mother, missing her child. Its introspection calls to mind a vivid image of youth, off to explore the world.


Musical structure

The piece appears very simple on the page. The score of ''Für Alina'' is only two pages long. It is in the key of
B minor B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative major is D major and its parallel major is B major. The B natural minor scale is: : Changes need ...
and is played ''piano (p)''. The only
notation In linguistics and semiotics, a notation is a system of graphics or symbols, characters and abbreviated expressions, used (for example) in artistic and scientific disciplines to represent technical facts and quantities by convention. Therefore, ...
related to tempo is ''Ruhig, erhaben, in sich hineinhorchend'', which roughly translates as ''peacefully, in an elevated and introspective manner.'' There is no
time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note va ...
. According to the physicist Carlo Rovelli, who has spoken of his interest in the piece, time appears to have stopped here. As notated, it could be played by a musician at beginner level. It has both the left and right hand written in G clef and only the echoing bass octave is written in F clef. Its simplicity is deceptive: it leaves a lot to the performer. To achieve purity of sound remains a challenge and demands an accomplished pianist with a good ear to produce the harmonic balance and symmetry the composition requires. It is common to repeat the composition several times. Variations could also be applied from one repetition to the other, like the exact 8ava of the two (melody) hands (stead for the length of each full repetition). It begins with a low double-octave B, which echoes throughout the whole work (save for the last section); it should be played with the pedal down throughout (a single pedal shift is found before the last four bars). The right hand plays the notes an octave higher than noted. Considering there is no time signature, the tempo is free, yet introspective in a way that allows the player to personalize the experience of playing it by responding to the notes and occasional dissonance. Thus the use of
rubato Tempo rubato (, , ; 'free in the presentation', literally ) is a musical term referring to expressive and rhythmic freedom by a slight speeding up and then slowing down of the tempo of a piece at the discretion of the soloist or the conductor. Ru ...
becomes essential. Both hands play their single notes at the same time. Only two types of notes appear in the score: whole notes and stemless
black notes A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument played using a keyboard, a row of levers which are pressed by the fingers. The most common of these are the piano, organ, and various electronic keyboards, including synthesizers and digital pia ...
(more free as to their duration). It has only 15 bars of written music: the first bar has the low bass octave. From there onwards begins the following pattern: the second bar has one note-head and one whole note, the next bar has two quarter notes and a whole note, and so on until a bar that has seven quarter notes and a whole note. This pattern then scales down again, to one quarter note and a half note. The last bar has two quarter notes and a half note. In other words, the first bar has one note, the second has two, the third has three, and so on. It is built as such: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 3. The compositional symmetry mirrors the harmonic symmetry. If played softly enough, with the pedal down and given enough time, the notes (often resulting in minor and major clashes between B and C#, D and E, and F# and G) can produce a humming of dissonance in the piano's machinery, a phenomenon that only adds to the transcendental nature of the piece. The entire harmonic structure, save for one note, is constructed so that the left hand part is the highest note in a
B Minor B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative major is D major and its parallel major is B major. The B natural minor scale is: : Changes need ...
chord which is below the melody line. Thus, when the melody is on a C# or D, the left hand is on a B. When the melody is on an E or F#, the left hand is on a D, and when the melody is on a G, A, or B, the left hand is on an F#. The only break from this harmonic structure appears when the left hand hits a C# below an F# in the right hand, synchronous with the release of the pedal at the end of the 11th bar.


Recordings

A release endorsed by Pärt himself is the ECM New Series album entitled Alina, recorded in July 1995 and released in 1999. It includes two variations of ''Für Alina'' by pianist Alexander Malter. According to the liner notes, the two versions, somewhat like “mood improvisations,” were handpicked by Pärt from a recording that was originally hours long. The two versions most strikingly differ in the use of
rubato Tempo rubato (, , ; 'free in the presentation', literally ) is a musical term referring to expressive and rhythmic freedom by a slight speeding up and then slowing down of the tempo of a piece at the discretion of the soloist or the conductor. Ru ...
and that of the use of the low octave b. Both versions clock slightly under eleven minutes. There are also versions by
David Arden David Arden is an Australian guitar player, singer and songwriter. He has performed with Archie Roach, Ruby Hunter, Tiddas, Bart Willoughby, Mixed Relations and with members of Shane Howard, Paul Kelly, Not Drowning Waving and Hunters and ...
and Jeroen van Veen. subscription required


Use in soundtracks

The piece has been used in film soundtracks, for example in the films ''
Foxcatcher ''Foxcatcher'' is a 2014 American biographical psychological sports film produced and directed by Bennett Miller. Written by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman, the film stars Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, and Mark Ruffalo. The film's plot is ...
'' (2014), '' Abandon'' (2002), and ''Mostly Martha'' (2001), where it is performed by Alexander Malter.


Sources

* This article draws some facts from the liner notes of the ECM album ''Alina'', an essay ''White Light'' written by Hermann Conen and translated into English by Eileen Walliser-Schwarzbart.


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fur Alina Compositions by Arvo Pärt 1976 compositions Compositions for solo piano Music dedicated to family or friends