Piano Variations A major op. 3
Variations Piano solo
In brief

The piece has a classical salon character: clear, lively and pointillistic, with ornamented passages that require lightness and a conversational sense so the momentum stays forward without becoming heavy. Technically you will face Phrasing (2.5/5), which here means shaping short recurring motifs by subtly varying attack and note lengths to make the call-and-response clear, and Dynamics (2.5/5), which require fine-grained control of small dynamic contrasts achieved by precise wrist and finger pressure adjustments rather than sudden changes of force. The exact period is unknown, but the opus number (op. 3) and the variations-for-piano format place it among the composer's early works intended for domestic and pedagogical use.

MusicCoach difficulty
49/100
Intermediate
Likely range : 43–54/100
Confidence : 52% · to confirm
BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedVirtuoso
Exam grade
About grade 5 to 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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Difficulty sources
Henle Verlag
5
50/100 normalised
Relative difficulty
50%
Among Franz Xaver Mozart
50%
Era
32%
Genre
Estimated skills
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