Jean Sibelius, "Valse Triste"

Born on December 8, 1865, in the provincial town of Hämeenlinna, the most important Finnish composer of all time was christened Johan Julius Christian Sibelius, but at the age of 21, he decided to Frenchify his name. He had recently abandoned his law studies against his family's advice and decided to follow the impulse of his early musical vocation. Betting on the future internationalization of his career, he henceforth went by the name Jean.

Jean Sibelius was quite right. In 1892, his symphonic poem Kullervo gave him a prominent place in the musical scene of his country while warning the world that a new voice was emerging from northern Europe.

Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957)

Success did not dazzle him, but it gave him enough confidence to decide to start a home. That same year he married Aino, sister of the composer and conductor Armas Järnefelt, who had introduced Sibelius into the family, which also had a son, Arvid, a writer.

Valse Triste, opus 44 n° 1
In 1903, Arvid asked his brother-in-law Jean to compose the incidental music for a play called "Death" (Kuolema). The work, which had a deep psychological resonance (as was to be expected), was premiered in December of that year, together with the six orchestral pieces that Sibelius wrote for it.

The first piece was entitled Tempo de valse lente - Poco risoluto. The following year, Sibelius revised it and premiered it as a brief concert piece under the name Valse Triste. It was an immediate success, to this day.

Nothing better than the opening bars of this piece to confirm the assertion that Sibelius is capable of establishing in a few seconds a sound world entirely his own. After a more lively middle section, a somber ending will close the piece with three mournful chords. It lasts about 

The rendition is by the Estonian Festival Orchestra, conducted by Paavo Järvi.