MusicCoach difficulty
58/100
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
Pedaling
Sustain pedal
1
Style
Romantic style
1
Rhythm
Tempo rubato
1
Theory
Knowledge of forms
2
Style
Character and style
1
Technique
Hand independence
1
Reading
Bass clef reading
1
Technique
Legato
1
Interpretation
Dynamics
1
Interpretation
Phrasing
2
Style
Classical style
1
Technique
General technique
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
Variation on a Waltz by A. Diabelli D 718
Franz Schubert
close skills
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: Passages rapides and Connaissance des formes — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Piano Sonata no. 20 in G major, op. 49 no. 2
Ludwig van Beethoven
close skills
low risk
to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Connaissance des formes — 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.
Ambitious challenge
A useful leap with guided practice.
Challenge
Piano Sonata A flat major D 557
Franz Schubert
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: Analyse harmonique and Style classique — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Challenge
Sonata in F major K.332 (I)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
partial transfer
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: Connaissance des formes and Indépendance des mains — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Same level
Same level
12 German Ländler, D.790, op. posth.171
Franz Schubert
partial transfer
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. The demand here is musical rather than mechanical: Tempo rubato — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Same level
Valses Sentimentales
Franz Schubert
new reflexes
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. The skill that will carry the work: Style classique — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Same level
Invention No.10 in G major BWV 781
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: Style baroque and Polyphonie à deux voix — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
This third movement, a Menuetto Allegro vivace in minor, has a brisk, dance-like character edged with underlying nervousness: you should convey rhythmic alertness without becoming mechanical, highlighting incisive accents and the voice interplay. Among the technical challenges, Connaissance des formes (3.6/5) is crucial here to respect repeats and the short contrasting phrases — this means planning transitions and micro-structures so each repeat retains renewed tension — and Tempo rubato (3.1/5) requires precise control of timing, i.e. small expressive stretches by the right hand melody while the left hand sustains a steady pulse. This Menuetto belongs to the Piano Sonata in A minor, D. 279, and occupies the third-movement position within that work in Schubert’s catalogue. I do not give a recommended reference performance out of caution, as I am not certain of a single widely recognized version for this specific excerpt.