Maurice Journeau composed the 1rst two movements of his Sonatine (Sonatina) Op.4 in 1922, at a time when he was still a student at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris. As for the third movement entitled "Final" (finale), it was written later in Biarritz, his native town where he returned on the year 1923.
The sonatina was followed by three others, yet the composer always considered it as the most significant one.
It was first performed only in 1952 by Ginette Doyen at the SMI (Société Musicale Indépendante) in Paris. Then, also with this french pianist, it was broadcast on the french national radio on February 11th, 1952.
