Sonata in C minor, H. 209, Wq.60
Classical Sonata Piano solo ~15 min
In brief

This C minor sonata projects contained tension, with insistent motives and sharp contrasts between rough, agitated passages and more lyrical episodes. You will specifically face the skill "Analysis harmonique (3.6/5)": you must identify and follow quick modulations and voice-leading to anticipate harmonic shifts and shape the right-hand lines; and the skill "Contrôle du toucher (2.5/5)": here it requires precise variation of attack and finger weight to bring out inner voices without losing the clarity of passages. The piece belongs to the Classical period and to the composer's body of keyboard sonatas, where intimate expressiveness meets formal discipline. I do not provide a reference interpretation because I am not fully certain of a single widely recognized recording for this exact sonata.

MusicCoach difficulty
44/100
Elementary
Likely range : 32–56/100
Confidence : 38% · to confirm
BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedVirtuoso
Exam grade
About grade 4 to 5

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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Relative difficulty
34%
Among Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
34%
Era Classical
11%
Genre
Movements and pieces of this work

One rarely plays the whole work. We do not yet have a level specific to each of these movements: they carry the opus's level, which does not say which one is the most approachable.

Estimated skills
Theory
Harmonic analysis
1
Theory
Knowledge of forms
1
Style
Classical style
1
Tone
Touch control
1
Technique
Hand independence
1
Technique
Two-voice polyphony
1
What to play next?

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