Raimond Valgre

Who was Raimond Valgre?

Raimond Valgre was an Estonian composer and musician, whose songs have become some of the most well known in Estonia. During World War II, he was a member of the orchestra of the 8th Estonian Rifle Corps of the Red Army and, as a result of his service on the Eastern Front he became an alcoholic after the war. His music was banned in 1948 by the Soviet authorities. Raimond Valgre died in an accident on 31 December 1949.

The revival of Valgre's compositions began in the Soviet Union of the 1960s. This included Armenian jazz vocalist Tatevik Oganesyan's rendition of "A Little Story in the Music" in her album Day Dream. The biographical feature film Need vanad armastuskirjad followed in 1992. In 2001, guitarist Francis Goya recorded twelve of the composer's song in his album Pleased to Meet You, Mr. Valgre. The hosts of Eurovision Song Contest 2002, Annely Peebo and Marko Matvere performed "A Little Story in the Music" as part of the interval act.