Op. 96a Valse lyrique. Arrangement from piano version (1919), completed in 1920; premiere in London in February 1921, conducted by Jean Sibelius.

Op. 96b Autrefois (Scène pastorale) for orchestra and two sopranos ad lib. Completed in 1919; first performance in Helsinki on December 1, 1919 (Sabine Dahlström and Clary Alfthan, Helsinki City Orchestra, conducted by Jean Sibelius). Piano arrangement in 1920.

Op. 96c Valse chevaleresque. Arrangement from piano version (1921). Completed in 1921; premiered on February 19, 1923 (Helsinki City Orchestra, conducted by Jean Sibelius).

Valse lyrique is an orchestral version of the piano piece Syringa. Sibelius conducted it, for example, in Britain and Norway in 1921. People of the time speculated that the composer was trying to replicate the success of Valse triste with a similar short waltz for orchestra. For instance, in Birmingham, people were disappointed when Sibelius conducted Valse lyrique as an encore instead of the familiar hit song. In Norway, however, a critic from Verdens Gang wisely noted that “music is art for everyone, not just for that sour clique that walks with blinders on.” The critic had nothing against a small waltz as a lightening piece in the concert.

Robert Layton saw the small piece as a sign of Sibelius’s lifelong love for Johann Strauss’s waltzes.

The original version of Autrefois called Scène pastorale was composed for the opening of Gösta Stenman’s art palace. However, the composer had disappeared before the festivities, and he was found in a restaurant quite drunk. Gösta Stenman obtained half a bottle of champagne for the weary composer. Thus refreshed, Sibelius conducted the music twice that evening.

In the fall of 1920, Sibelius revised the piece, and it received its final name, Autrefois. The revised version was performed on February 19, 1923, in the same concert as the sixth symphony. Autrefois is a quite original small piece in which two sopranos sing vocalises, but they can be replaced by clarinets if needed. For example, Robert Layton considers this piece the most captivating of the opus.

Valse chevaleresque, like Valse lyrique, is an orchestral arrangement of a piano piece. Sibelius had to spend a lot of time reworking it in October-November 1921, but the Chappel publishing company refused to publish it. Sibelius thought the waltz was “good in its own kind,” and he sent the revised work to Hansen, who paid half of Sibelius’s asking price.

The composer had already managed to convince his wife that he had created a money-maker, and the disappointment was considerable. Aino Sibelius hated the entire piece and considered it the anthem of the composer’s “drinking side.”

When Sibelius premiered the piece in the same concert as the premiere of the sixth symphony in February 1923, the critics were astonished. For example, Leo Funtek thought the waltz was not quite worthy of the national composer’s stature.

Later, in all its charmingly decadent manner, Valse chevaleresque has been seen as a rather straightforward attempt to replicate the popularity of Valse triste. For example, the following year in Copenhagen, a critic from Politiken described it as “pure salon compared to the ingenious salon of Valse triste.”