Two Little Pearls, B156

These two little dance pieces were written for the seventh issue of the collection Young Czech Pianist, published in Prague by Urbanek. They are technically undemanding works aimed at children, as expressly stated by Dvorak in the autograph: “Two pieces for the young pianist”. Despite its character as an occasional work, and its simplicity, the second piece is quite magical and arguably one of Dvorak’s best piano miniatures. The autograph went missing for many years but was rediscovered at the beginning of the 21st century.