Piano Sonata (Allegro) (Source: IFM, Ms. No. 9, p. 28) G major R. 368 (33)
Sonata Piano solo
In brief

This Allegro in G major feels jaunty and driven, alternating bouncy passages and crisp rhythmic figures that require a clear attack to maintain forward motion. On the technical side, pay particular attention to Phrasing (2.5/5) to shape the short melodic units and provide direction, and to Hand balance (2.5/5) so the left hand supports without overpowering the right-hand figurations; practically this means controlling weight and using flexible fingerings to let phrases breathe while keeping the accompaniment steady. The period of composition is listed as unknown, but the work belongs to Kuhnau's body of keyboard sonatas and reflects his taste for lively contrasts and transparent counterpoint within the sonata genre. I do not give a reference recording here since I cannot confidently cite a specific, well-established interpretation for this piece.

MusicCoach difficulty
56/100
Intermediate
Likely range : 45–66/100
Confidence : 55% · fair confidence
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.

Does this rating look right to you?

This rating is computed automatically from heterogeneous sources. It gets things wrong, sometimes badly. If you know this work, your answer is worth more than our computation: it tells us which ratings to review.

Add a note (optional)

Your note is not published on the site: it is read in review.

Difficulty sources
Henle Verlag
6
62/100 normalised
MusicCoach consensus
47.0
47/100 normalised
Relative difficulty
53%
Among Johann Kuhnau
64%
Era
40%
Genre
Estimated skills
Tone
Hand balance
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