Oskar Merikanto (Aug. 5, 1868 - Feb. 17, 1924) was a Finnish composer, pianist and conductor. He showed musical talent at a young age, with noted skills on piano and organ. From 1887 - 1888 he studied at the Leipzig Conservatory, but was already active as a composer at this point, with several piano compositions under his belt. He finished up his studies in Berlin in 1890 - 91. In the early 20th century, Merikanto would go on to heavily promote opera in Finland (his opera Pohjan neiti) was the first Finnish-language opera ever produced, and he also wrote a great deal for voice and church music.

Valse Lente is one of his many piano compositions, and was published in 1898. It's a simple, pretty waltz, with a melody that climbs up chromatically before coming back down, before moving on to the development, which has similar chromatic movement, and then returns to the original melody. It's a short but sweet little waltz!

Here's a recording of this work for you to enjoy!

Izumi Tateno