A work by the Colombian composer Luis Antonio Calvo, known for his lyrical and deeply evocative melodic writing. It represents the Latin American romantic piano tradition with strong focus on expressive cantabile lines.
At Henle 4 this is an intermediate piece that expects secure technique and real attention to phrasing. The main demands: a true singing tone, with the melody floating above the accompaniment; rubato that must breathe naturally without losing the pulse; and chord voicing — bringing out one note inside a handful of others.
Beyond that, expect continuous sixteenth-note figuration that must ripple, not chatter.
The player must balance the rich, singing melody against a complex, shifting accompaniment using flexible tempo.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
A level or two down with the same spirit — ideal if this piece is still out of reach.
Where this piece's skills lead: slightly harder works making similar technical demands.
Entusiasmo is rated Henle level 4 of 9 — intermediate repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 5–6. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 6.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 4 — meaning you can already play level 3–4 pieces cleanly. Learning it one level early is possible as a stretch piece, but more than that usually leads to months of frustration.
A typical performance of Entusiasmo lasts about 4 minutes.
Entusiasmo is available as free public-domain sheet music on IMSLP — the score is linked directly from this page.
Pieces at a comparable difficulty and character include Entusiasmo (Pasillo) by Luis Antonio Calvo, Cupido (Marcha para Piano) by Luis Antonio Calvo, 'O sole mio by Eduardo Di Capua — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.