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.
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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Each suggestion combines difficulty gap, risk, confidence and skill overlap. The first two cards in each column are the most useful pedagogically.
The safest next step.
A genuine step up, without a jolt.
A useful leap with guided practice.
This first movement has a brisk, hunting character with pointed detached accents and driving motifs that call for rhythmic clarity more than broad lyricism. Technically, the “Connaissance des formes” (3.6/5) requires you to map out the sections and repeats to shape the small episodes and manage transitions, and the “Tempo rubato” (3.1/5) asks for modest, controlled phrase-level flexibility — gestures realized by clearly articulating figures and easing slightly at phrase endings without losing forward motion. The work sits at the transition between classical and romantic tendencies in the composer's output, showing structured thought alongside increased expressive freedom. I do not provide a recommended interpretation here because I am not fully certain of a single definitive recording for this particular sonata.