Born in 1935 in Paide near Tallinn. He started to take music lessons at the age of seven and in 1954 enrolled at Tallinn's secondary school of music where he learned to play the piano and studied composition. In 1957 he was accepted by the music conservatory in Tallinn where he studied under Heino Eller.
In 1962 he was awarded First Prize at the Young Composers Forum in Moscow (for Our Garden), however his work soon met with fierce criticism for its Western formalism' and was officially condemned, and the performance and publication of his music were banned. Nevertheless, in 1978 he received the Estonian Annual Award for his Tabula rasa.
In 1980, together with his family he emigrated to Vienna and in 1981, having received a scholarship to the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, he came to Berlin where he lives today. The same year of 1981 he also received the Heinrich Strobel scholarship award from the Radio Corporation in Baden-Baden. The numerous honours he received in the years that followed include honorary membership of the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm (1991), two nominations for a Grammy award in the field of contemporary music: for Miserere (1991) and Kanon Pokajanen (1997), honorary membership of the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1996), honorary doctorates from the universities in Sydney (1996) and Tartu (2000), the Russian Independent Triumph' Award (1997), the Order of the Estonian State Second Class (1998), and the Gottfried-von-Herder-Preis (2000).Selected works (since 1980): Annum per annum for organ (1980), De Profundis for male chorus, percussion ad libitum and organ (1980), Passio Domini nostri Jesu Christi secundum Joannem for tenor, bass, vocal quartet, chorus, instrumental quartet and organ (1982), Wenn Bach Bienen gezüchtet hätte... for piano, wind quintet, string orchestra and percussion (1976-84), An den Wassern zu Babel sassen wir und weinten... for four voices (or chorus) and organ (1976-84; also arranged for trombone and chamber orchestra and a version for voices and instrumental ensemble, 1996), Es sang vor langen Jahren..., motet dedicated to De la Motte for alto (countertenor), violin and viola (1984), Ein Wallfahrtslied for male chorus and string quartet (1984; string orchestra version: 1984-2001), Te Deum for three choruses, prepared piano, tape and string orchestra (1984-85), Stabat Mater for soprano, alto, tenor, violin, viola and cello (1985), Arbos for brass instruments and percussion (1977-86), Magnificat for a cappella chorus (1989), Miserere for solo voices, chorus, ensemble and organ (1989), Mein Weg hat Gipfel und Wellentaler for organ (1989), Festina lente for string orchestra and harp ad libitum (1988-90), Bogoroditse dyevo for a cappella chorus (1990), Statuit ei Dominus for two choruses and two organs (1990), The Beatitudes for chorus and organ (1990-91), And One of the Pharisees... for three voices or a cappella chorus (1992), Mozart-Adagio for violin, cello and piano (1992), Concerto piccolo über b-a-c-h for solo trumpet, strings, harpsichord and piano (1964-94), Trisagion for string orchestra (1992-94), Litany, St John's prayer for every hour of the day and night for solo voices, chorus and orchestra (1994), Pari intervallo for organ (also a version for four recorders and for clarinet, trombone and strings, 1976-95), Missa Syllabica for chorus and organ (1977-96), Beatus Petronius for two choruses and two organs (1990-96), Cantate Domino for chorus or soloists and organ (1977-96), Dopo la vittoria, a short cantata for four-voice a cappella chorus (1996), I Am the True Vine for a cappella chorus (1996), Berliner Messe for chorus (or soloists) and organ (1990-97; also for chorus and chamber orchestra), Zwei Slawische Psalmen for a cappella chorus (or soloists) (1984-97), Arbos for seven (eight) recorders and three triangles ad libitum (1997), Kanon Pokajanen for a cappella chorus (1997; many fragments may be performed separately), Tribute to Caesar for a cappella chorus (1997), The Woman with the Alabaster Box for a cappella chorus (1997), Triodion for a cappella chorus (1998), Zwei Beter for a cappella chorus (1998), Cantique des degrŽs for chorus and orchestra (1999), Mein Weg for fourteen strings and percussion (1999), Orient & Occident for string orchestra (1999), Darf ich... for solo violin, tubular bells (ad libitum) and strings (1995-99), Hymn to a Great City for two pianos (1984-2000), Cecilia, vergine romana for chorus and orchestra (2000), Como anhela la cierva for female chorus and orchestra (1999-2001), ...which was the son of... for a cappella chorus (2000), Nunc dimittis for a cappella chorus (2001).Cecilia, vergine romana for chorus and orchestra was commissioned by the Agenzia Romana per la preparazione del Giubileo, the body responsible for the organization of the Holy Year 2000 in Rome.
Pärt was inspired by the story of the martyrdom of Saint Cecilia. In 1999 he embarked on a search for a suitable text. He eventually found, in the seminary in the Austrian city of Graz, a concise description of the saint's life in the Latin-language Breviarum Romanum. It was entitled S. Ceciliae Virg. et Mart., Lectio III (for 22 November). An old translation of the text into Italian has been located in the library of the Monastero di Bose in northern Italy.
The world premiere of Cecilia, vergine romana took place in Rome on 19 November (three days before the Feast of St Cecilia) 2000. The composer dedicated the work to the conductor Myung-Whung Chung as well as the Chorus and Orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.