In Yasmina Reza's popular play Art, a friendship among three men goes into crisis when one of them purchases a plain white painting that he thinks is art but others feel is a fraud. This recording could be the musical counterpart to that painting. It contains some of Arvo Pärt's earliest works from the 1970s when he first began composing in his pared-down style, and clearly, the approach at this early state was one note at a time. These works of supreme simplicity may seem like the after-effects of a meditative experience; those of lesser spiritual development may be left wondering how such long silences between notes can be sustained by piano and performer. To Pärt's dubious credit, he maintains a thread of a musical idea; whether it's an idea one cares about is a point of argument. That issue aside, even those who don't doubt Pärt's sincerity may be puzzled by the music's presentation here. Titled Alina, the disc consists of the piece Für Alina for solo piano, played twice (as if once isn't enough) and framed on all sides by three performances of Spiegel im Spiegel for violin and piano. The one thing suggesting that this isn't some kind of cynical, artsy, minimalist joke is that the performances themselves do vary in character as suggested by their timings. One Für Alina is five seconds longer than the other while the Spiegel im Spiegel performances vary by as much as 1 minute and 24 seconds. At the very least, it's a relaxing backdrop for a Tarot Card reading.

--David Patrick Stearns