Ralph van Raat (piano), Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic/JoAnn Falletta Naxos8.572525 ***

If you only know the most popular of Arvo Pärt pieces, this CD may come as something of a shock. The two brief sonatinas from the late 1950s (Pärt's official Op 1) are dominated by busy neo-classical writing, though the Larghetto of the first is prophetic of what was to come. The contemporaneous Partita, Op 2, seems shockingly harsh to be associated with the name Pärt. Familiar patterns prevail in Für Alina(1976) in Variationen zur Gesundung von Arinushka(1977), and Für Anna Maria(2006). The 35-minute, death-inspired Lamentate of 2002, a homage to Anish Kapoor's sculpture Marsyas, is a different and sometimes darkly expressive story. Ralph van Raat's diligent approach works best in the heavier music, especially Lamentate, where he's partnered by the Ulster Orchestra's new conductor, JoAnn Falletta. See url.ie/af6o