Violin Concerto no. 14 in A minor, op. 110
Romantic Violin and Orchestra
In brief

This concerto unfolds a lyrical, somewhat melancholic character where singing phrases alternate with dramatic surges, often feeling like an intimate confession highlighted by the orchestra. Main technical challenge: Tempo rubato (3.1/5) — you will need to shape small lengthenings and recoveries of tempo in the melodic lines without losing the underlying pulse, controlling the exact bow gesture length; another issue to manage: Fast passages (2.5/5) — they require clean left‑hand fingering and tight right‑hand/left‑hand coordination to keep the lines clear without stiffening the sound. A work of the Romantic period, it belongs to Spohr's substantial output of violin concertos, where he balances solo lyricism with a more involved orchestral role.

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Is this the right work?
MusicCoach difficulty
75/100
Advanced
Likely range : 63–87/100
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
81%
Among Louis Spohr
82%
Era Romantic
Genre
Estimated skills
Pedaling
Sustain pedal
1
Style
Romantic style
1
Rhythm
Tempo rubato
1
Technique
Legato
1
Technique
Fast passages
1
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