Alfred Hill — Valse Triste (1914)

Alfred Hill was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1870 but spent his formative years in New Zealand. He began his musical studies on the cornet and later learned the violin and began composing at the age of twelve. He was sent to Leipzig at 15 to continue his studies on the violin and in composition. Here, he came into contact with many of the great masters including Grieg, Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Strauss. Upon his return to the antipodes, he became a leading conductor and teacher. He eventually settled in Sydney where he was a founding professor at the Conservatorium of Music. He remained active as a violinist, violist and conductor. He retired in the 1930's and dedicated himself entirely to composition.

As a composer, he was prolific. Because he did not keep track of his works with Opus numbers, it is impossible to be sure of his total output. A catalogue compiled by Allan Stiles lists more than two thousand titles including ten operas, nine symphonies, four string orchestra symphonies, five concertos, overtures, tone poems, two ballets, film scores, marches and a wide range of choral and solo works. His Chamber music compositions include seventeen string quartets, and many miniatures for strings and piano.

Valse Triste (1914)

This work is included on the New Zealand Piano Quartet's NEW CD!

One of these charming miniatures is the 'Valse Triste (1914)'. The date included in the title is intended to differentiate this work from his other pieces with the same name. 'Valse Triste' is best known in its original form for solo piano and has been recorded several times. This version for piano quartet (2 violins or vioin and viola, cello and piano) demonstrates Hill's excellent instrumental scoring and romantic compositional style. There are other settings of this work for piano and violin, piano and cello as well as for full orchestra.

Taken from notes by Stiles Music Publications