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Raimond Valgre
Statue of Raimond Valgre in Pärnu, Estonia.
Background information
Birth name	Raimond Tiisel
Born	October 7, 1913(1913-10-07) Riisipere
Origin	Tallinn, Estonia
Died	December 31, 1949 (aged 36)
Genres	Folk music
Occupations	Musician Composer
Instruments	Vocals, piano, accordion, guitar
Years active	1933-1949

Raimond Valgre (born as Raimond Tiisel; 7 October 1913 – 31 December 1949) was an Estonian composer and musician, whose songs have become some of the most well-known in Estonia.^[1] During the World War II, he became a member of the orchestra of the 8th Estonian Rifle Corps. In the horrors of the Eastern Front, the composer suffered from alcoholism and collapsed morally after the war.^[1] His music was banned from 1948 by the Soviet authorities. Raimond Valgre died in an accident on 31 December 1949.

The Soviet revival of Valgre took place in Estonia started in the 1980s, including the Armenian jazz vocalist Tatevik Oganesyan including Valgre's "A Little Story in the Music" in her album Day Dream.^[2] The biographical feature film Need vanad armastuskirjad ("Those Old Love Letters") was issued in 1992.^[1] In 2001, guitarist Francis Goya recorded twelve of the composer's songs, released as the album Pleased to Meet You, Mr. Valgre. The hosts of Eurovision Song Contest 2002, Annely Peebo and Marko Matvere performed Valgre's "A Little Story in the Music" as part of the interval act.^[3]

References