Formation
Cello and piano · 2 performers
Required forces
Cello
1 performers
Piano
1 performers
Playable parts
Cello
Piano
MusicCoach difficulty
82/100
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
Theory
Knowledge of forms
1
Technique
Bow legato (cello)
1
Tone
Vibrato (cello)
1
Theory
Harmonic analysis
1
Style
Character and style
1
Technique
Position changes (cello)
1
Fingering
Complex fingering
1
Technique
Fast passages
1
Interpretation
Phrasing
1
Rhythm
Polyrhythm 2 against 3
1
Rhythm
General rhythm
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 no. 2, op. 58
Felix Mendelssohn
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: Intonation (violoncelle) and Vibrato (violoncelle) — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Gentle
Cello Sonata, op. 49: II. Adagio passionato
Alberto Ginastera
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: Style moderne et contemporain and Ornements romantiques — 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 no. 1, H.277
Bohuslav Martinů
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: Style moderne et contemporain and Intonation (violoncelle) — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Balanced
Cello Sonata in C major, op. 119
Sergei Prokofiev
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: Style moderne et contemporain and Vibrato (violoncelle) — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Ambitious challenge
A useful leap with guided practice.
Challenge
Cello Sonata
Elliott Carter
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. The skill that will carry the work: Vibrato (violoncelle) and Legato d'archet (violoncelle) — what matters is a steady sustained tone: bow speed, contact point and pressure even, before any thought of speed.
Challenge
Sonata for Cello Solo, op. 28
Eugene Ysaÿe
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: Position du pouce and Connaissance des formes — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Same level
Same level
Suite for Cello and Piano, op. 16
Camille Saint-Saëns
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: Position du pouce and Ornements baroque — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Same level
Cello Concerto
Elliott Carter
partial transfer
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, right at the edge of Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM): different ground, same level. The skill that will carry the work: Analyse harmonique — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Same level
Cello Suite no. 4 in E flat major, BWV.1010
Johann Sebastian Bach
partial transfer
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: Position du pouce and Style baroque — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.