A Call for Independency

​Pēteris Vasks and Arvo Pärt are the most prominent composers from Latvia and Estonia, which suffered for decades under the Soviet regime.  The Hague organist Bert den Hertog, resident organist at the Elandstraatkerk, puts both composers at the centre of his recital.  Vasks wrote his organ works around the time of Latvia's independence. They reflect this eventful period. His music is the expression of a free spirit. 

Arvo Pärt is another example of a composer following his own path. He emigrated to the West because his music was blacklisted in Soviet times and he had no future in Estonia. He was successful in the West. After independence, he returned to his native Estonia, from where he now travels the world as the most performed living composer.