5. Allegro moderato (concert version)
Piano solo
In brief

This Allegro moderato (concert version) has a contained rhythmic drive and a brisk but restrained character, with punctuated accents and breaths that require precise attacks to maintain momentum without losing the line. You will need to focus especially on Passages rapides (2.5/5) to secure clear articulation of fast figures while keeping the forearm relaxed and minimizing unnecessary finger motion, and on the Pédale de sustain (2.5/5) to achieve the desired resonance without blurring inner voices, which calls for well-timed releases and careful half-pedaling aligned with the phrasing. The piece sits within Bartók's piano repertoire and, in its concert form, reflects his attention to adapting textures for solo performance rather than being tied to a single clearly defined stylistic period.

MusicCoach difficulty
67/100
Advanced
Likely range : 57–77/100
Confidence : 55% · fair confidence
BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedVirtuoso
Exam grade
About grade 7

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
6
62/100 normalised · 2 obs.
Relative difficulty
91%
Among Béla Bartók
82%
Era
Genre
Estimated skills
Interpretation
Dynamics
1
Technique
Fast passages
1
Pedaling
Sustain pedal
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