Orpheus, symphonic poem, S.511b
Romantic Piano solo ~11 min
In brief

This piece unfolds a meditative, almost sacerdotal atmosphere, with singing lines that evoke Orpheus's voice rather than flashy virtuosity, alternating floating passages and moments of contained tension. You will specifically face Tempo rubato (3.1/5), which requires subtly lengthening and shortening phrases so the melody breathes without upsetting the accompaniment, and Sustain pedal (3.1/5), which demands very precise pedal control to sustain harmonic color without blurring inner voices. The work belongs to the Romantic period and is one of Liszt's pieces exploring programmatic and symphonic influences. I do not provide a reference performance here because I am not 100% certain of a specific piano recording of this version.

MusicCoach difficulty
88/100
Master repertoire
Likely range : 76–100/100
Confidence : 40% · to confirm
BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedVirtuoso
Exam grade
Beyond grade 8

The grade scale stops at 8; this work belongs to concert or diploma repertoire.

Difficulty estimate by MusicCoach on a scale of 1 to 100.

Where this work sits
050100

Most works cluster between 45 and 65: a small score gap often marks a real step. The highlighted bar shows this work among those for the same instrument.

The MusicCoach difficulty measures a work's overall demands (technique, reading, stamina) on a shared 0-100 scale, consolidated from editorial and pedagogical reference points (Henle, exam syllabuses, curation) and our own analyses. It measures neither musical value nor the practice time YOU will need: two musicians of the same level can experience the same work very differently depending on their strengths (hands used to octaves, quick sight-reading…). The confidence reflects how many reference points sit behind the score and how well they agree — a lightly documented score is flagged “to validate”. For a truly personal bearing, the diagnostic and your space compare each work to YOUR estimated level, which the score alone cannot do.

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Relative difficulty
86%
Among Franz Liszt
97%
Era Romantic
Genre
Estimated skills
Pedaling
Sustain pedal
1
Style
Romantic style
1
Rhythm
Tempo rubato
1
Tone
Touch control
1
Interpretation
Dynamics
1
Technique
Three-or-more-voice polyphony
1
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