Sonata in E flat major, K.252, L.159
Baroque Sonata Piano solo ~6 min
In brief

This sonata in E-flat major has a bright, playful character built on rapid figuration and crisp leaps that require precise articulation and steady rhythmic drive. Technically, watch the Ornaments baroque (3.1/5): you will need to execute short, clean trills and mordents by isolating small finger motions (controlled finger rebounds) without loading the arm, and Reading bass clef (3.1/5), which demands secure reading of the left hand in the lower register, requiring hand positioning that keeps the accompaniment clear and balanced while allowing the right hand’s passages to sing. From a historical perspective, the work belongs to the Baroque keyboard sonata repertoire where composers explored keyboard virtuosity and varied idioms for solo instrument. I am not providing a reference interpretation because I cannot state with complete confidence a specific recording widely recognized for this particular sonata.

MusicCoach difficulty
58/100
Intermediate
Likely range : 46–70/100
Confidence : 30% · to confirm
BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedVirtuoso
Exam grade
About grade 6 to 7

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
60%
Among Domenico Scarlatti
59%
Era Baroque
48%
Genre
Estimated skills
Theory
Harmonic analysis
1
Theory
Knowledge of forms
1
Reading
Bass clef reading
1
Ornaments
Baroque ornaments
1
Style
Baroque style
1
Technique
Double notes
1
Technique
Hand independence
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.

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