1. Background of the Work's Composition

This work was published in 1844 in the cities of Paris, Lyon, Berlin, and Milan, as a preliminary collection of etudes to be undertaken before performing 24 Etudes in All Major and Minor Keys, Op. 16 (Paris, M. Schlesinger, 1840, reissued the following year as The Art of Phrasing).

Although this collection is still known today under titles such as Melodious Etudes, the title of the first edition was simply 25 Etudes, followed by a series of explanations: "to serve as an introduction to The Art of Phrasing, and as preparation for etudes and various works of the modern school."

The year before publishing this work, in 1843, Heller wrote in a letter to Jenny Montgolfier, an influential pianist and teacher in Lyon, "Could you send this letter to [the Lyon publisher] Bunel? I am asking him for a little work, to recover from the 'Etudes' (with which I am satisfied), and... to earn some money" (Cf. J.-J. Eigeldinger p.117).

Etudes, with their educational and practical aspects, were indeed a genre that brought considerable profit to composers. The following year, Heller wrote again in a letter to Montgolfier: "Bunel is supposed to send me 500 francs for the two works I am about to write. Thanks to this, I am promised an easy journey. As soon as I receive the money, I will depart and we will meet soon." (Cf. J.-J. Eigeldinger pp.135-136) These "two works" are thought to be 30 Progressive Etudes, Op. 46, and 25 Etudes for the Development of Rhythm and Expression, Op. 47 (both published in 1849), which were published after Op. 45. From this background, it can be inferred that he intensively wrote etudes during this period to secure funds for activities such as concert tours. From the perspective of etude composition, although each piece adheres to the traditional framework since Clementi (for example, No. 7 is an exercise in finger independence similar to the first piece of Gradus ad Parnassum), each piece, though short, possesses a unique character and is written with extreme delicacy and meticulousness. Each piece is short, and the score may appear simple at first glance, but performance requires a great deal of attention. This point was stated by the composer himself in the preface to a new edition published by Lemoine during Heller's lifetime (although this is a reprint of the preface affixed to the first edition of Op. 47). The preface to the Lemoine edition is quoted below:

There exist countless collections of etudes whose sole purpose is to train the mechanism of the fingers. I, however, set a completely different goal while writing this series of characteristic short pieces.

I wished for students to perform the pieces expressively, gracefully, elegantly, and energetically, in accordance with the specific character of each work. I wished to awaken in them a sense of musical rhythm and to guide them towards the most accurate and perfect reproduction of the composer's intentions.

To achieve my goal, I ask teachers to ensure that their students perform each of these 25 etudes carefully, with all nuances, delicately, and with the appropriate emotion for each piece.

The four collections of etudes mentioned above, published in the 1840s, continued to be published even after Heller's death, and particularly for the pieces in Op. 45, descriptive titles, likely unrelated to Heller himself, were added by various publishers and became widely disseminated. At least, no titles for individual pieces can be found in the collections published in Paris during Heller's lifetime.