Waltz no. 5
Romantic Waltz Piano solo ~4 min
In brief

This waltz feels like a salon dance piece with a slightly theatrical air, alternating crisp, articulated figures and more singing moments that call for a lively pulse and occasional expressive sighs. You will chiefly face Tempo rubato (3.9/5) and Phrasing (3.9/5): the rubato here means subtly stretching phrase endings and returning to strict beat without losing momentum, and the phrasing requires careful shaping of melodic lines through finger legato, nuanced weight transfers and controlled release to make the tune sing. The piece belongs to the Romantic period and is one of Balakirev’s characterful piano pieces intended for salon and domestic concert use. I omit recording recommendations because I am not certain of a definitive reference for this specific waltz.

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Sheet music

Public-domain sheet music on IMSLP ↗

Is this the right work?
MusicCoach difficulty
50/100
Intermediate
Likely range : 38–62/100
Confidence : 35% · to confirm
BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedVirtuoso
Exam grade
About grade 5 to 6

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
41%
Among Mily Balakirev
35%
Era Romantic
48%
Genre
Estimated skills
Rhythm
Tempo rubato
1
Interpretation
Phrasing
2
Pedaling
Sustain pedal
1
Style
Romantic style
1
Technique
Legato
1
Interpretation
Dynamics
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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