Formation
Cello and piano · 2 performers
Required forces
Cello
1 performers
Piano
1 performers
Playable parts
Cello
Piano
MusicCoach difficulty
52/100
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
Theory
Knowledge of forms
1
Tone
Vibrato (cello)
1
Technique
Bow legato (cello)
1
Style
Classical style
1
Technique
Position changes (cello)
1
Technique
Intonation (cello)
1
Technique
Legato
1
Interpretation
Dynamics
1
Interpretation
Phrasing
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
Cello Sonata in C major, G.17
Luigi Boccherini
close skills
low risk
to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Vibrato (violoncelle) and Connaissance des formes — what matters is a steady sustained tone: bow speed, contact point and pressure even, before any thought of speed.
Gentle
Cello Sonata, op. 11, no. 3
Paul Hindemith
close skills
low risk
to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Style moderne et contemporain and Passages rapides — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Balanced step
A genuine step up, without a jolt.
Balanced
Cello Sonata in E-flat major, op. 64: IV. Adagio
Ludwig van Beethoven
close skills
moderate risk
to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Connaissance des formes and Legato d'archet (violoncelle) — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Balanced
Cello Sonata no. 1, op. 45
Felix Mendelssohn
close skills
moderate risk
to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Vibrato (violoncelle) and Connaissance des formes — what matters is a steady sustained tone: bow speed, contact point and pressure even, before any thought of speed.
Ambitious challenge
A useful leap with guided practice.
Challenge
Cello Sonata no. 2 in G minor, op. 117
Gabriel Fauré
close skills
high risk
to confirm
An ambitious leap while staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Passages rapides and Connaissance des formes — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Challenge
Cello Sonata no. 1 in D minor, op. 109
Gabriel Fauré
close skills
high risk
to confirm
An ambitious leap while staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. The skill that will carry the work: Connaissance des formes and Vibrato (violoncelle) — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Same level
Same level
Variations concertantes, for cello and piano, op. 17
Felix Mendelssohn
partial transfer
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Passages rapides and Connaissance des formes — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Same level
Waltz, for cello and piano, op. 48
Reinhold Glière
new reflexes
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Rythmes pointés and Détaché (violoncelle) — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Same level
Serenade, for cello and piano
Francis Poulenc
new reflexes
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Style moderne et contemporain — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.