Mazurka de salon, T.81
Romantic Mazurka Piano solo ~3 min
In brief

This salon mazurka is lively yet slightly wistful, alternating singing phrases with pointed accents that create the intimate atmosphere of a parlor dance rather than a folk-hall mazurka. On the technical side, work the Tempo rubato (4.3/5) to shape short delays and anticipations that bring out the melodic relief, and the Rythmes pointés (4.3/5) which require a clear detached attack and wrist control to articulate the asymmetric accents while keeping the dance pulse; the Sustain pedal (3.1/5) should be used sparingly to connect sonorities without blurring the articulation. From a romantic-period perspective, it belongs among Albéniz’s piano miniatures written for salon performance and showcases his treatment of dance forms for the instrument.

MusicCoach difficulty
55/100
Intermediate
Likely range : 43–67/100
Confidence : 32% · to confirm
BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedVirtuoso
Exam grade
About grade 6

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
22%
Among Isaac Albéniz
44%
Era Romantic
49%
Genre
Estimated skills
Interpretation
Phrasing
1
Rhythm
Dotted rhythms
1
Rhythm
Tempo rubato
1
Pedaling
Sustain pedal
1
Style
Romantic style
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