Valse Triste from Kuolema, Op. 44
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)

THE STORY: 

“Valse Triste,” or “Sad Waltz,” is part of the incidental music that Sibelius wrote for a play by his brother-in-law called Kuolema, or “Death.” In the scene where this music was used, a son dreams that his ill mother is being danced around her bedroom by ghosts and shadowy figures—only to awaken and find her dead.
      This haunting work brought Sibelius recognition in America for the first time; it was extremely popular just before World War I. Unfortunately, Sibelius had sold away the rights to the work to his publisher years before, so he didn’t enjoy any of its royalties.

LISTEN FOR:

• The continual evasion of resolution in the home key of G major, giving the work its nervous energy and tension

• The climax with thunderous timpani rolls

• A ghostly G-minor cadence played by a string quartet as the melody fades away at the end

INSTRUMENTATION:

Flute, clarinet, two horns, timpani, strings