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.
Gentle step
The safest next step.
Gentle
Suite in C minor, T.302
Johann Pachelbel
partial transfer
low risk
to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Polyphonie à deux voix and Style baroque — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Suite in A major, BWV.832
Johann Sebastian Bach
partial transfer
low risk
to confirm
A short step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Polyphonie à deux voix 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
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.