Intermezzo Op.117 No.2 in B-flat minor
Intermezzo Piano solo ~4 min
In brief

This second Intermezzo from Op.117 has a contained, veiled melancholy and an intimate, suspended lyricism that asks you to let phrases breathe despite the work's apparent simplicity. Technique: Legato (2.5/5) requires careful digital connection and continuity of sound through precise finger control and subtle wrist release, and Independence of the hands (2.5/5) demands voicing the melody while keeping the accompaniment steady yet flexible, so balancing voices and controlling the right-hand weight against the left is essential. The piece is one of the Intermezzos of Op.117, part of Brahms's late output in which he explores small, introspective piano tableaux.

MusicCoach difficulty
68/100
Advanced
Likely range : 54–82/100
Confidence : 55% · fair confidence
BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedVirtuoso
Exam grade
On the syllabus: Grade 8 ABRSM

Official level, taken from the exam syllabus.

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
Combined exam syllabi
Grade 8
76/100 normalised
Relative difficulty
69%
Among Johannes Brahms
84%
Era
87%
Genre
Estimated skills
Technique
Hand independence
1
Technique
Legato
1
Interpretation
Dynamics
1
Interpretation
Phrasing
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