Formation
Violin and piano · 2 performers
Required forces
Violin
1 performers
Piano
1 performers
Playable parts
Violin
Piano
MusicCoach difficulty
76/100
Advanced
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
Technique
Position changes
1
Technique
Intonation
1
Technique
Bow legato
1
Interpretation
Dynamics
1
Technique
Fast passages
1
Interpretation
Phrasing
1
Technique
High positions
1
Rhythm
Complex bowing rhythm
1
Tone
Vibrato
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
Violin Sonata no. 1 in D major, op. 2
George Enescu
close skills
low risk
to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes and Vibrato — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Gentle
Violin Sonata no. 1, op. 50: I. Allegro con fuoco
Charles-Marie Widor
close skills
low risk
to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes and Vibrato — 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
Violin Sonata No. 36
Mozart
close skills
moderate risk
to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Vibrato and Rythme d'archet complexe — what matters is a steady sustained tone: bow speed, contact point and pressure even, before any thought of speed.
Balanced
Violin Sonata no. 2 in E minor, op. 108
Gabriel Fauré
close skills
moderate risk
to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes and Vibrato — 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
Violin Sonata no. 2 in C major, BB85, Sz.76
Béla Bartók
partial transfer
high risk
to confirm
An ambitious leap into 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 moderne et contemporain — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Challenge
Violin Sonata no. 1 in C sharp minor, op. 21, BB84, Sz.75
Béla Bartók
close skills
high risk
to confirm
An ambitious leap into 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 moderne et contemporain — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Same level
Same level
Romance for Violin and Orchestra no. 2 in F major, op. 50
Ludwig van Beethoven
new reflexes
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Voix chantante — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
Same level
Romance for Violin and Orchestra no. 1 in G major, op. 40
Ludwig van Beethoven
new reflexes
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Voix chantante — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
Same level
Valse-scherzo, for violin and orchestra in C major, op. 34
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
new reflexes
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, right at the edge of Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM): different ground, same level. What changes is the skill in play: Staccato — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.