Maurice Ravel

Sonatine (Ravel)

Sonatine is a piano work written by Maurice Ravel. Although Ravel wrote in his autobiography that he wrote the sonatina after his piano suite Miroirs, it seems to have been written between 1903 and

Composition#

Ravel wrote the first movement of the Sonatine for a competition sponsored by the Weekly Critical Review magazine after being encouraged by a close friend who was a contributor to that publication. The competition requirement was the composition of the first movement of a piano sonatina no longer than 75 bars, with the prize being 100 francs. In 1941, the journal Music & Letters printed the article “When Ravel Composed to Order” by Michel-Dimitri Calvocoressi. Calvocoressi discussed how he supposedly encouraged Ravel to write the piece in response to a competition posted in the Paris Weekly Critical Review. of G. Henle Verlag found the original article in the Review published in three March 1903 editions. The original manuscript that Ravel submitted had the text (by Verla) written and struck out, replaced with . Ravel submitted the piece under a pseudonym and chose an anagram of his name. The Sonatine was first performed fully in Lyon on 10 March 1906 by Paule de Lestang. Shortly afterwards the piece received a Paris premiere, where it was played by Gabriel Grovlez. Ravel dedicated the work to and ; he later dedicated his Ma mère l’Oye suite to their children.

Structure#

The piece is in three movements: The leaping fourth melody of the first movement reappears in variations against different textures in the second and third movements. The first movement is a well-structured, even straightforward, sonata form (albeit utilizing Ravel’s Impressionistic harmonic colorings). Two themes emerge in the exposition—the first in tonic key of F minor, and the second in D major and B minor. Owing to its diminutive form, the following minuet exists without a trio. Shifting to the key of the dominant (here spelt as D major), it unfolds as a slow waltz, elegant and restrained but nonetheless building through moments of passion and intensity. Lastly, the toccata finale is the most technically challenging of the Sonatines three movements. Inspired in part by the keyboard writing of Couperin and Rameau, the movement shifts restlessly between and time and abounds in energy, driving the work to a brilliant conclusion.

Reception#

Reception for Ravel’s Sonatine has been mixed but generally favorable. Marcel Marnat wrote that Sonatine captivates from the very first measure in its depth,

Arrangement#

Carlos Salzedo transcribed Sonatine for flute, harp and cello (or viola), titling the transcription Sonatine en Trio, an instrumentation that echoes the second sonata of Six sonatas for various instruments by Claude Debussy. Various other arrangements for solo instruments with piano accompaniment exist as well. Kenneth Hesketh orchestrated the Sonatine in 2024, the orchestration receiving its premiere in September of that year with the BBC Philharmonic conducted by Paul Daniel. The orchestration is published by Ravel Edition.

Composer: Maurice Ravel