Scherzo in G minor, S.153
Romantic Scherzo Piano solo ~7 min
In brief

This work exudes an atmosphere that is both dramatic and light, typical of a scherzo's character. The student will encounter main technical challenges related to the virtuosity of the rapid passages and octave jumps, requiring good coordination and agility. Composed during the Romantic period, this piece beautifully illustrates the strong emotional expression and technical innovation characteristic of Liszt.

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Sheet music

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Is this the right work?
MusicCoach difficulty
82/100
Master repertoire
Likely range : 70–94/100
Confidence : 35% · to confirm
BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedVirtuoso
Exam grade
About grade 8

Estimated from our difficulty score, not taken from an exam syllabus. Checked against 333 works on the ABRSM syllabus: the exact grade is right 7 times out of 10, and within one grade 99 times out of 100.

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
70%
Among Franz Liszt
94%
Era Romantic
90%
Genre
Estimated skills
Technique
Octaves
1
Technique
Fast passages
1
Technique
Staccato
1
Pedaling
Sustain pedal
1
Style
Romantic style
1
Rhythm
Tempo rubato
1
Tone
Touch control
1
Technique
Legato
1
Interpretation
Phrasing
1
What to play next?

Each suggestion combines difficulty gap, risk, confidence and skill overlap. The first two cards in each column are the most useful pedagogically.

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