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 infantil no. 1, A.53
Heitor Villa-Lobos
partial transfer
low risk
to confirm
A short step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Style moderne et contemporain and Analyse harmonique — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Suite infantil no. 2, A.67
Heitor Villa-Lobos
partial transfer
low risk
to confirm
A short step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Style moderne et contemporain and Analyse harmonique — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Balanced step
A genuine step up, without a jolt.
Balanced
Suite in A major, BWV.832
Johann Sebastian Bach
partial transfer
moderate risk
to confirm
A real 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
Décameron dramatique, suite of 10 dances
Jacques Offenbach
close skills
moderate risk
to confirm
A real step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 4 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.
Challenge
Den Luciferiske, suite for piano, FS91, op. 45
Carl Nielsen
close skills
high risk
to confirm
An ambitious leap into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. 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.
Challenge
Yearning: The Mystery of the Sighs, suite
Jean Sibelius
close skills
high risk
to confirm
An ambitious leap into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. 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.
Same level
Same level
2-Part Inventions, BWV.772-786
Johann Sebastian Bach
partial transfer
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Elementary (around grade 3 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.4 in D minor BWV 775
Johann Sebastian Bach
partial transfer
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Polyphonie à deux voix and Doigté complexe — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Same level
3 Préludes et Fugues, op. 99
Camille Saint-Saëns
partial transfer
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Demi-pédale — the pedal is set by ear, note by note: misjudged, it blurs the harmony instead of joining it.
The Molto adagio e patètico movement demands a tense, inward mood, with sustained lines and polyphony that allows inner voices to emerge in a sombre, contemplative way rather than with bravura. You will be challenged by Ornaments baroque (4.1/5) and Style baroque (4.1/5): you must render short ornaments as part of the line without breaking it (precise fingers, subtle wrist control for small attacks) while simultaneously shaping independent voices through careful fingering and varied touch to bring out inner lines. The piece belongs to Nielsen’s Romantic-period output and functions as a polyphonic, meditative episode within the suite Den Luciferiske rather than as a standalone virtuosic showpiece. I do not provide a reference recording here because I cannot confidently identify a specific definitive interpretation for this movement.