Sonate D.960 : II. Andante sostenuto
Sonata Piano solo
In brief

The Andante sostenuto unfolds a restrained, lyrical mood of suspended breathing, with long melodic lines over a calm harmonic accompaniment and occasional silences that create contained tension. Technically, you will need to focus on Phrasing (2.5/5) by learning to shape long, singing lines through consistent legato and controlled arm weight so the melody sustains without overwhelming the accompaniment, and on Dynamics (Nuances, 2.5/5) which require very fine dynamic gradations and sensitive adjustment of touch and pedalling to achieve subtle shading. This sonata is one of Schubert's late works and holds an important place in his piano output for its scope and introspective character.

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MusicCoach difficulty
67/100
Advanced
Likely range : 57–77/100
Confidence : 41% · to confirm
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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Relative difficulty
81%
Among Franz Schubert
82%
Era
71%
Genre
Estimated skills
Tone
Touch control
1
Technique
Legato
1
Interpretation
Dynamics
2
Ornaments
Romantic ornaments
1
Interpretation
Phrasing
2
Technique
Two-voice polyphony
1
Technique
Three-or-more-voice polyphony
1
Style
Romantic style
1
Interpretation
Singing voice
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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