MusicCoach difficulty
50/100
Intermediate
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
Style
Character and style
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.
Balanced step
A genuine step up, without a jolt.
Balanced
Den Luciferiske, suite for piano, FS91, op. 45
Carl Nielsen
close skills
moderate risk
fair confidence
A real step up: this piece moves you into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). 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
Les belles américaines, suite of waltzes
Jacques Offenbach
close skills
moderate risk
to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). 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.
Ambitious challenge
A useful leap with guided practice.
Same level
Same level
3 Préludes et Fugues, op. 109
Camille Saint-Saëns
partial transfer
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. The demand here is musical rather than mechanical: Phrasé — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
Same level
Invention No.13 in A minor BWV 784
Johann Sebastian Bach
new reflexes
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Polyphonie à deux voix and Style baroque — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Same level
Invention No.14 in B-flat major BWV 785
Johann Sebastian Bach
new reflexes
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Polyphonie à deux voix and Style baroque — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
This Allegretto un pochettino has a lightly dancing, slightly ironic character, with contrapuntal figures answering each other like quick conversational motifs rather than a long lyrical line. Focus especially on Baroque Ornaments (4.1/5) and Knowledge of Forms (4.1/5): the ornaments require precise, articulated fingering so trills and mordents sit clearly in the texture, while understanding the form means shaping phrases to highlight entries and counter-answers in the polyphony. In Nielsen’s output the suite belongs to a romantic-period phase where older stylistic gestures are reworked for the piano.