Recording
- Valse triste, Op. 44 No. 1Judith Bokor · 19254:22
Valse triste, Op. 44 No. 1, was written for a theatre stage, in a scene where a dying woman dreams that she is dancing and Death is among the guests. In Judith Bokor’s 1925 recording the cello plays the long melody and the piano accompanies.
Listening notes · joins
- Opening, cello and piano
The piano marks three beats in each bar, and the cello plays a longer melody across them. Sibelius begins with the bare rhythm of the waltz, Lento in 3/4, and the accompaniment sounds before the melody enters.
- Incidental music for Kuolema, 1903
In Arvid Järnefelt’s play Kuolema, an old woman dreams of a masked ball, and her partner turns out to be Death. Sibelius wrote the music in 1903 for this play by his brother-in-law.
- Form: four linked waltzes
Sibelius joins four related waltzes, and the opening waltz returns between them to link the longer melodies. In this arrangement the cello plays the melody and the piano plays the waltz accompaniment beneath it.
- Concert première, Helsinki, 1904
Sibelius conducted the concert première in Helsinki on 25 April 1904, and the piece was published separately that year. Its first title was Valse lente (“Slow waltz”), before it became Valse triste, the “Sad waltz”.
- The final three chords
The dance slows, and the opening waltz returns in short phrases. Three quiet chords follow the end of the melody. In the orchestral score Sibelius gave these chords to four solo violins; in this arrangement cello and piano play them.
Joins
- Lento assai and three closing chords
Sibelius marks the closing passage Lento assai, very slow. Short phrases from the opening dance return, then the melody stops and three quiet chords end the piece. The cello-and-piano arrangement keeps this short passage after the waltz.