Sibelius’ “Valse triste”: A Fleeting Dream-Vision
Described in an early review as “evocative of a fleeting dream-vision,” Jean Sibelius’ Valse triste (“Sad Waltz”), Op. 44 was originally conceived as incidental music. It accompanied a haunting scene from the 1903 Symbolist play, Kuolema (“Death”), by the composer’s brother-in-law, Arvid Järnefelt. A program note from the original production offers the following description: It is night. The son, who has been watching beside the bedside of his sick mother, has fallen asleep from sheer …