Valse d'Adele, S.456
Romantic Waltz Piano solo ~2 min
In brief

This Valse d'Adele has an elegant, slightly dreamy salon character: it alternates marked, danceable two-beat figures with more hesitant, reflective interludes that call for flexibility and charm rather than sheer bravura. Technically, pay close attention to Tempo rubato (3.9/5) and Phrasing (3.9/5): the tempo rubato here means small, expressive shifts of pulse (slightly delaying at phrase endings then resuming without breaking the line) and the phrasing requires shaping each melodic arc through precise attack and release of the fingers to bring out inner voices. Placed in the Romantic period, it functions as one of Liszt's more intimate salon waltzes within his piano output, illustrating his interest in dance forms and lyrical expression on a smaller scale.

MusicCoach difficulty
82/100
Master repertoire
Likely range : 70–94/100
Confidence : 38% · 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
96%
Genre
Estimated skills
Rhythm
Tempo rubato
1
Interpretation
Phrasing
2
Style
Romantic style
1
Pedaling
Sustain pedal
2
Tone
Touch control
1
Technique
Legato
1
Interpretation
Dynamics
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.

See the whole progression