Valse in B major, for violin and piano
Modern Waltz Violin and Piano
In brief

This waltz in B major feels dance-like but slightly nervous, alternating graceful phrases with held-back moments that make it more taut than a purely light salon waltz. Technically, you will need to focus on Rythmes pointés (3.9/5) by precisely articulating the slight inequality in the attack, and on Tempo rubato (3.9/5) to shape brief time concessions without losing forward motion, which requires controlled wrist and bow changes on the violin and consistent breath and timing from the pianist. The piece belongs to Britten's modern period and reflects his taste for vivid, concise miniatures rather than extended symphonic forms. I do not give a recommended recording because I am not fully certain of a canonical interpretation for this specific work.

Formation

Violin and piano · 2 performers

Required forces
Violin 1 performers
Piano 1 performers
Playable parts
Violin Piano
MusicCoach difficulty
60/100
Intermediate
Likely range : 48–72/100
Confidence : 35% · to confirm
BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedVirtuoso
Exam grade
About grade 6 to 7

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
44%
Among Benjamin Britten
26%
Era Modern
70%
Genre
Estimated skills
Technique
Détaché
1
Rhythm
Dotted rhythms
1
Rhythm
Tempo rubato
1
Rhythm
Polyrhythm 2 against 3
1
Style
Modern and contemporary style
1
Interpretation
Phrasing
3
Technique
Compound bowing
1
Technique
Legato
1
Interpretation
Dynamics
2
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.

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