Olivier Métra, primarily known for his orchestral dance music, crafts a graceful waltz in this piano setting of Espérance. It is characterized by its swaying rhythmic profile and characteristic turn-of-the-century Parisian sentimentality.
At Henle 3 this is a late-beginner piece — comfortable hands-together playing is assumed, and musical shaping starts to matter. The main demands: a waltz lilt that needs charm and a flexible left hand; rubato that must breathe naturally without losing the pulse; and a true singing tone, with the melody floating above the accompaniment.
Maintain a steady but flexible waltz pulse, ensuring the second and third beats are light and graceful.
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.
Espérance is rated Henle level 3 of 9 — late beginner repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 4–5. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 4.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 3 — meaning you can already play level 2–3 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 Espérance lasts about 4 minutes.
Espérance 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 Eleanor by Olivier Métra, Bohémienne by Olivier Métra, Waltz No. 2 by Dmitri Shostakovich — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.