First Edition: Paris, Heugel, 1865 Dedication: À ma fille (To my daughter)

This collection of etudes was dedicated to Emma, around 12 years old, with the hope of her improving her piano skills. She later married the director of the Leduc publishing house.

All etudes are written to simultaneously teach various performance techniques and different musical styles and characters. The phrase "pleasant sounding" in the title implies that the pieces are not only helpful for technical improvement but also pleasing to the ear.

No. 11 in B-flat minor, Largo religioso: Etude on Tremolo

The tempo marking "Largo religioso" indicates that a solemn character is required. The opening and closing four measures should evoke a string quartet (two violin parts, viola, cello), expressing subtle crescendos and decrescendos in each part. The fragment of tremolo in the left hand in the fourth measure can be imagined as timpani. Ravina's music often recalls the sonorities of orchestral and chamber music. Familiarizing oneself with musical genres other than piano music on a daily basis is highly beneficial for accurately grasping the imagery of 19th-century piano music and playing with rich tone colors. When playing tremolos, it is important not to play every note distinctly, but rather to skillfully blend touches where the key does not fully descend to the bottom and touches where it does not fully ascend to the top, in order to create expression. However, care must be taken not to obscure the sense of meter.

No. 15 in E-flat major, Andantino affettuoso

This etude has a dance-like character, and the agile performance of double notes in thirds is the technical challenge. The main motif at the beginning has a horn-like sound. The dotted rhythms in the right hand come in two types: dotted eighth note + sixteenth note, and eighth note + sixteenth rest + sixteenth note. When a rest is present, releasing the pedal and clearly cutting the sound to create a short pause will add variation to the flow of the piece. As indicated in the score's annotations, Ravina's metronome tempo seems too fast for practicing double notes, so it would be advisable to play at a slightly slower speed, ensuring that the lightness is not lost.

This commentary is based on the commentary in Henri Ravina, Ravina Piano Pieces (Kawai Publishing, edited by Yasushi Ueda), published in 2015.

Score Information: Kawai Publishing ONLINE Ravina Piano Pieces