MusicCoach difficulty
85/100
Master repertoire
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
Style
Character and style
1
Interpretation
Dynamics
1
Technique
Fast passages
1
Pedaling
Sustain pedal
1
Interpretation
Phrasing
1
Style
Romantic 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
Sonata in B-flat major, D. 960
Franz Schubert
close skills
low risk
to confirm
A short step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). The skill that will carry the work: Passages rapides — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Piano Sonata no. 3 in F sharp minor, op. 23, "Etats d'âme"
Alexander Scriabin
partial transfer
low risk
to confirm
A short step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes and Passages rapides — 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
Sonata no. 3 in B minor, op. 58
Frédéric Chopin
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: Connaissance des formes and Passages rapides — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Balanced
Piano Sonata no. 2 in B flat minor, op. 36
Sergei Rachmaninoff
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: 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.
Challenge
Sonata in G major, K.449, L.444
Domenico Scarlatti
new reflexes
high risk
to confirm
An ambitious leap while staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes and Style baroque — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Challenge
Piano Sonata no. 29 in B flat major, op. 106, "Hammerklavier"
Ludwig van Beethoven
partial transfer
moderate risk
to confirm
An ambitious leap while staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Same level
Same level
Ballade No.2 in F major Op.38
Frédéric Chopin
partial transfer
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, right at the edge of Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM): different ground, same level. What changes is the skill in play: Connaissance des formes and Octaves — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Same level
Fantasy in G major
Franz Schubert
partial transfer
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, right at the edge of Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM): different ground, same level. What changes is the skill in play: Indépendance des mains — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Same level
Wanderer Fantasy
Franz Schubert
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: Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus and Ornements romantiques — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
The first movement has a restrained, contemplative grandeur, with sudden lyrical outbursts emerging over a calm harmonic background rather than flashy virtuosity. You will need to focus especially on Phrasing (2.5/5) — here that means shaping long, singing lines, anticipating thematic returns and managing musical breath so each phrase points somewhere — and Nuances (2.5/5), which require very fine dynamic control and subtle gradations to bring out inner voices without jarring transitions. This is one of Schubert's late piano sonatas and holds a central place in his late piano output. Widely cited reference interpretations of this sonata include recordings by pianists such as Alfred Brendel and Daniel Barenboim.