The grade scale stops at 8; this work belongs to concert or diploma repertoire.
Difficulty estimate by MusicCoach on a scale of 1 to 100.
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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This B minor Sonata has an atmosphere that is alternately dark and dramatic, driven by stark contrasts and chordal progressions that continually defer resolution. You will need to focus on Touch Control (2.5/5) to shape the dynamics between broad chords and more intimate responses without producing a muddy sound, and on Fast Passages (2.5/5), which require wrist relaxation and economical motion to maintain clarity and articulation in the rapid figures. The piece occupies an important place in Liszt’s piano output as a large-scale sonata that explores expressive and structural possibilities of the Romantic piano repertoire. I do not provide a reference interpretation because I am not fully certain of citing a specific recording for this work.