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.

Calvocoressi discussed how he supposedly encouraged Ravel to write the piece in response to a competition posted in the Paris Weekly Critical Review.

Shifting to the key of the dominant (here spelt as D-flat major), it unfolds as a slow waltz, elegant and restrained but nonetheless building through moments of passion and intensity.

Inspired in part by the keyboard writing of Couperin and Rameau, the movement shifts restlessly between 3/4 and 5/4 time and abounds in energy, driving the work to a brilliant conclusion.

Marcel Marnat wrote that Sonatine captivates from the very first measure in its depth,[1] adding that in its conciseness and radiance, it is one of Ravel's defining works.

Sonatine is easier than some of his other works, such as Gaspard de la nuit, and Ravel (who was anxious about his skills as a pianist) probably performed it because of this.