MusicCoach difficulty
59/100
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
Harmonic analysis
1
Theory
Knowledge of forms
1
Style
Classical style
1
Technique
Hand independence
1
Technique
Legato
1
Interpretation
Dynamics
1
Interpretation
Phrasing
1
Rhythm
Tempo rubato
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
Keyboard Sonata in A major, Wq. 89, no. 3, H.527
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
close skills
low risk
to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Connaissance des formes and Style classique — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Gentle
Piano Sonata no. 10 in G major, op. 14 no. 2
Ludwig van Beethoven
close skills
low risk
to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Connaissance des formes and Indépendance des mains — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Balanced step
A genuine step up, without a jolt.
Balanced
Piano Sonata C major Hob. XVI:48
Franz Joseph Haydn
close skills
moderate risk
to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Connaissance des formes and Style classique — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Balanced
Piano Sonata D major Hob. XVI:42
Franz Joseph Haydn
close skills
moderate risk
to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Connaissance des formes and Style classique — 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
Sonata in A major K.331
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
close skills
high risk
to confirm
An ambitious leap into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Rythmes pointés and Ornements romantiques — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Challenge
Sonata Op.13 (Pathétique)
Ludwig van Beethoven
partial transfer
high risk
to confirm
An ambitious leap into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Staccato and Connaissance des formes — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Same level
Same level
8 Variations on a Dutch Song K. Anh. 208 (24)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
partial transfer
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 5 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
8 Piano Variations on a March from "Les Mariages Samnites" K. 352 (374c)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
partial transfer
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 5 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
3-Part Inventions, BWV.787-801
Johann Sebastian Bach
new reflexes
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Style baroque and Ornements baroque — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
The third movement Allegretto feels bright and sprightly, with clear, lightly articulated phrases and rapid replies that require rhythmic clarity and a sustained melodic line to keep momentum without stiffness. You will face specifically the Connaissance des formes (3.6/5) — you must shape repeats and small transitions by anticipating the binary structure to sculpt the phrases — and Analyse harmonique (3.6/5), which requires hearing and bringing out quick modulations by adjusting voice balance and arm articulation. This sonata is part of Mozart's classical piano sonata output, where formal clarity and lyrical charm go hand in hand. (No reference recording is given here because I prefer not to name a performance unless I am certain of it.)