5 Waltzes, H.5
Modern Waltz Piano solo ~10 min
In brief

These five waltzes are sprightly and capricious, often light but sometimes biting, requiring a clear sense of pulse and articulated phrasing to bring out the dance character. The Polyrhythm 2 against 3 (3.1/5) will demand independent left/right hand control and steady weight distribution so the ternary and binary patterns remain aligned; the Impressionistic style (3.1/5) calls for a colored touch and delicate use of the pedal to shape harmonies and resonance without blurring attacks. Dating from the composer's modern period, these short pieces show his interest in combining traditional dance forms with more modern harmonic colors. I do not provide a reference recording out of caution unless I am certain of it.

MusicCoach difficulty
30/100
Elementary
Likely range : 18–42/100
Confidence : 35% · to confirm
BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedVirtuoso
Exam grade
About grade 3

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
7%
Among Bohuslav Martinů
6%
Era Modern
10%
Genre
Estimated skills
Rhythm
Polyrhythm 2 against 3
1
Style
Modern and contemporary style
1
Interpretation
Dynamics
1
Rhythm
General rhythm
1
Technique
Staccato
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