Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 in C-sharp minor S.244
Rhapsody Piano solo ~10 min
In brief

This Rhapsody shifts between lyrical, sustained phrases and virtuosic outbursts, with dramatic contrasts of energy and accent that make it more festive and forceful than purely reflective. You will need to focus especially on Pointed rhythms (Rythmes pointés) (4.3/5) — here that means clean detached attacks and controlled unequal durations while maintaining a steady rhythmic drive — and Romantic ornaments (Ornements romantiques) (4.3/5), which require quick, expressive embellishments produced by wrist and forearm control to stay clear in dense textures. The piece belongs to Liszt's series of Hungarian Rhapsodies and is one of the set's emblematic virtuoso works for solo piano. I do not give a reference interpretation because I am not fully certain of a single, widely recognized recording for this exact piece.

MusicCoach difficulty
80/100
Advanced
Likely range : 72–88/100
Confidence : 68% · fair confidence
BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedVirtuoso
Exam grade
On the syllabus: Grade 8 ABRSM

Official level, taken from the exam syllabus.

Other syllabi : Trinity_London Grade 8

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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Difficulty sources
ABRSM (syllabus)
Grade 8
76/100 normalised
Combined exam syllabi
Grade 8
76/100 normalised
Relative difficulty
63%
Among Franz Liszt
96%
Era
39%
Genre
Estimated skills
Ornaments
Romantic ornaments
1
Rhythm
Dotted rhythms
1
Technique
Octaves
1
Interpretation
Dynamics
2
Technique
Fast passages
2
Interpretation
Phrasing
1
Technique
General technique
1
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