Piano Sonata E major Hob. XVI:22
Sonata Piano solo
In brief

This E major sonata has a bright, buoyant character, with sprightly motifs and dialoguing voices that call for crisp articulation rather than heavy drama. Hand independence (2.5/5) here means keeping a steady accompanying bass while the right hand projects the melody, requiring precise coordination and wrist control so the accompaniment does not obscure the principal line; phrasing (2.5/5) requires shaping each small phrase with subtle releases and smooth connections, attending to attacks and releases to make the musical responses clear. It is part of Haydn's body of keyboard sonatas and showcases his classical skill at musical dialogue rather than later experimental tendencies.

MusicCoach difficulty
49/100
Intermediate
Likely range : 43–54/100
Confidence : 55% · fair confidence
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 · 5 obs.
Relative difficulty
60%
Among Franz Joseph Haydn
50%
Era
22%
Genre
Estimated skills
Technique
Hand independence
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.

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