3 Caprices, Op.24
Cello and Piano
In brief

These 3 Caprices for cello and piano have a lively, virtuosic character, alternating bright, sparkling passages with more songful moments and calling for concentrated energy rather than languid romanticism. Technically, be especially mindful of Passages rapides (5.0/5) — these require very fluid finger alternation and precise left-hand shifts to keep clarity and evenness — and of Coups d'archet composés (violoncelle) (4.5/5), which demand controlled bowing gestures to shape phrases across the bow and manage accents. The period of the work is listed as unknown, but it appears in the composer's catalogue as 3 Caprices, Op.24, and belongs to his output of salon and chamber pieces. I do not provide a recommended recording here, as I am not certain of a well-established reference for these specific pieces.

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Sheet music

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Formation

Cello and piano · 2 performers

Required forces
Cello 1 performers
Piano 1 performers
Playable parts
Cello Piano
MusicCoach difficulty
73/100
Advanced
Likely range : 61–85/100
Confidence : 37% · to confirm
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.

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Relative difficulty
92%
Among Auguste Franchomme
86%
Era
Genre
Estimated skills
Technique
Fast passages
2
Technique
Stamina
1
Technique
Intonation (cello)
2
Interpretation
Phrasing
2
Style
Character and style
2
Technique
Position changes (cello)
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.

See the whole progression