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Play — Glenn Gould - Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 31 in A-flat major op. 110 (OFFICIAL) · Glenn Gould
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Play — Piano Sonata No. 31 in A-Flat Major, Op. 110: I. Moderato Cantabile, Molto Espressivo · Ludwig van Beethoven, Paul Lewis
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MusicCoach difficulty
86/100
Master repertoire
Likely range : 80–92/100
Confidence : 62% · fair confidence
BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedVirtuoso
Exam grade
About grade 8
Estimated from our difficulty score, not taken from an exam syllabus. Checked against 333 works on the ABRSM syllabus: the exact grade is right 7 times out of 10, and within one grade 99 times out of 100.
Difficulty estimate by MusicCoach on a scale of 1 to 100.
Where this work sits
050100
Most works cluster between 45 and 65: a small score gap often marks a real step. The highlighted bar shows this work among those for the same instrument.
The MusicCoach difficulty measures a work's overall demands (technique, reading, stamina) on a shared 0-100 scale, consolidated from editorial and pedagogical reference points (Henle, exam syllabuses, curation) and our own analyses. It measures neither musical value nor the practice time YOU will need: two musicians of the same level can experience the same work very differently depending on their strengths (hands used to octaves, quick sight-reading…). The confidence reflects how many reference points sit behind the score and how well they agree — a lightly documented score is flagged “to validate”. For a truly personal bearing, the diagnostic and your space compare each work to YOUR estimated level, which the score alone cannot do.
Does this rating look right to you?
This rating is computed automatically from heterogeneous sources. It gets things wrong, sometimes badly. If you know this work, your answer is worth more than our computation: it tells us which ratings to review.
Difficulty sources
Henle Verlag
8
85/100 normalised · 8 obs.
Relative difficulty
98%
Among Ludwig van Beethoven
Movements and pieces of this work
One rarely plays the whole work: each movement has its own level — often very different from the opus's overall score.
Estimated skills
Theory
Harmonic analysis
1
Theory
Knowledge of forms
1
Technique
Hand independence
1
Interpretation
Dynamics
1
Technique
Fast passages
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.
Balanced step
A genuine step up, without a jolt.
Balanced
Fantasy and Fugue on the Chorale Ad nos, ad salutarem undam, S.624, R.314
Franz Liszt
98/100
+12 pts
18-36 weeks
partial transfer
moderate risk
to confirm
A real step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus and Analyse harmonique — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
Piano Sonata no. 29 in B flat major, op. 106, "Hammerklavier"
Ludwig van Beethoven
95/100
+9 pts
18-36 weeks
close skills
moderate risk
to confirm
A real step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). The skill that will carry the work: Connaissance des formes and Passages rapides — 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.
Same level
Same level
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, op. 120
Ludwig van Beethoven
88/100
+2 pts
6-9 weeks
close skills
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8): what changes is the ground. 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.
Same level
Polonaise no. 6 in A flat major, op. 53, "Heroic"
Frédéric Chopin
84/100
-2 pts
6-9 weeks
partial transfer
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Rythmes pointés and Octaves — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Same level
Concert Etudes on Caprices by Paganini, op. 10
Robert Schumann
84/100
-3 pts
6-9 weeks
close skills
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Octaves — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
See the whole progression
This late sonata alternates quiet introspection with abrupt, dramatic surges, asking you to shape long cantabile lines and sudden outbursts so the architecture comes through more than sheer virtuosity. Expect particular technical demands tied to Connaissance des formes (3.6/5) — you must understand reprises and bridges to place breaths and sculpt large phrases — and to Analyse harmonique (3.6/5), which requires clarifying voice-leading and chordal inversions by precise finger and hand balancing. The piece belongs to the Romantic period and stands in the composer's late output as a concise, reflective synthesis of sonata tradition and individual experiment.