MusicCoach difficulty
70/100
Advanced
Level of the complete work
We have no level specific to this movement. The figure above is that of the complete work: within a cycle, movements often differ widely in demand.
Estimated skills
Theory
Knowledge of forms
1
Ornaments
Baroque ornaments
1
Style
Baroque style
1
Pedaling
Sustain pedal
1
Style
Romantic style
1
Rhythm
Tempo rubato
1
Tone
Touch control
1
Interpretation
Dynamics
1
Technique
Three-or-more-voice polyphony
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.
Gentle step
The safest next step.
Gentle
Suite española no. 1, op. 47, B.7
Isaac Albéniz
close skills
low risk
to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Indépendance des mains and Demi-pédale — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Organ Suite no. 2 in G minor, op. 92
Max Reger
close skills
low risk
to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Indépendance des mains and Style baroque — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced step
A genuine step up, without a jolt.
Balanced
Bach: Prelude, Gavotte, and Gigue from Partita in E for Solo Violin, TN iii/1
Sergei Rachmaninoff
close skills
moderate risk
to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). The skill that will carry the work: Style baroque and Ornements baroque — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Balanced
Variations and Fugue on an Original Theme, op. 35, "Eroica Variations"
Ludwig van Beethoven
partial transfer
moderate risk
to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Analyse harmonique and Doubles notes — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Ambitious challenge
A useful leap with guided practice.
Challenge
Iberia Suite, B.47 Books 1-4
Isaac Albéniz
close skills
high risk
to confirm
An ambitious leap into Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Passages rapides and Style baroque — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Challenge
Fugue in A minor, KKIVc/2
Frédéric Chopin
partial transfer
high risk
to confirm
An ambitious leap into Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Analyse harmonique and Ornements romantiques — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Same level
Same level
Prelude and Fugue in A minor, WoO 9
Johannes Brahms
close skills
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Analyse harmonique and Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Same level
Fantasia and Fugue in C minor, op. 29
Max Reger
partial transfer
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Analyse harmonique and Indépendance des mains — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Same level
Fugues, op. 72
Robert Schumann
partial transfer
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Polyphonie à deux voix and Analyse harmonique — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
This Presto is brisk and percussive: it relies on rhythmic echoes and sharp attacks that create the sense of a nervous sprint through multiple voices. You will need to focus especially on Ornaments baroque (4.1/5) and Knowledge of forms (4.1/5) — the ornaments require clear, short execution of appoggiaturas and mordents that must slot in without weighing down the line, while a firm grasp of the form will help you shape repeats and transitions so the returns remain coherent. The piece belongs to MacDowell's Romantic-period output and is among his early character pieces for piano, where he blends neo-baroque touches with a post-Romantic pianistic language.