Piano Sonata, H.350
Modern Sonata Piano solo ~17 min
In brief

The sonata projects a tense, rhythmic energy with sharp, percussive passages alternating with lyrical episodes whose harmonies shift quickly, creating a sense of restless suspension rather than serene melody. Among the technical challenges, Analysis harmonique (3.6/5) is essential: you must track rapid harmonic progressions to shape inner lines and anticipate resolutions, which requires precise voicing and quick hand shifts; Polyrhythm 2 against 3 (3.1/5) also figures prominently, demanding hand independence and a steady underlying pulse so the gesture becomes anchoring the slower beat while clearly articulating the group of three. From the modern period, the work shows Martinů’s personal way of reworking sonata form within a more mobile rhythmic and harmonic language. I do not give a reference performance because I am not fully certain of a specific recording for this sonata.

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Sheet music

Public-domain sheet music on IMSLP ↗

Is this the right work?
MusicCoach difficulty
78/100
Advanced
Likely range : 66–90/100
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
99%
Among Bohuslav Martinů
94%
Era Modern
90%
Genre
Movements and pieces of this work

One rarely plays the whole work. We do not yet have a level specific to each of these movements: they carry the opus's level, which does not say which one is the most approachable.

Estimated skills
Theory
Harmonic analysis
1
Theory
Knowledge of forms
1
Rhythm
Polyrhythm 2 against 3
1
Style
Modern and contemporary style
1
Tone
Touch control
1
Interpretation
Dynamics
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.

See the whole progression