No. 2 op. 85 no. 2 · MWV U 101
Piano solo
In brief

This piano piece has a sprightly, bouncing character, alternating light figurations with more restrained moments that require maintaining forward motion without becoming mechanical. Technically, focus on Phrasing (2.5/5): you must shape short motifs with clear relaunches and manage breath between hand-phrases, and on Legato (2.5/5) which requires smooth connections in rapid passages so the line sings despite jumps; Dynamics (Nuances, 2.5/5) here call for subtle inflections rather than large contrasts. The piece belongs to the piano miniatures grouped under Op. 85 and occupies a place in Mendelssohn’s piano output as a concise salon piece for solo piano.

MusicCoach difficulty
59/100
Intermediate
Likely range : 52–66/100
Confidence : 52% · to confirm
BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedVirtuoso
Exam grade
About grade 6 to 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
68%
Among Felix Mendelssohn
70%
Era
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.

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