Fantasia in B flat major, H.289, Wq. 61, no. 3
Classical Fantasia Piano solo ~5 min
In brief

This Fantasia in B-flat presents a lively, inventive character, alternating poised lyrical episodes with more impetuous passages that require a strong sense of dramatic continuity. You will face specific challenges in Connaissance des formes (3.1/5) — you must shape transitions between contrasting episodes and make reprises and digressions coherent through your pianistic gestures — and in Style classique (3.1/5), which calls for clear articulation between voices and a delicate dynamic balance to bring out motifs without weight. The work belongs to the Classical period and reflects C.P.E. Bach’s keyboard writing, positioned between Baroque inheritance and a more expressive, mobile idiom within his keyboard output.

MusicCoach difficulty
54/100
Intermediate
Likely range : 42–66/100
Confidence : 35% · 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
70%
Among Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
70%
Era Classical
22%
Genre
Estimated skills
Theory
Knowledge of forms
2
Style
Classical style
2
Technique
Legato
2
Interpretation
Dynamics
2
Interpretation
Phrasing
2
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