Waltz in F sharp minor, for two pianos, op. 3
Romantic Waltz Two pianos
In brief

This waltz in F sharp minor feels both danceable and slightly melancholic, alternating light, buoyant figures with more introspective passages that call for supple movement. You will specifically face Tempo rubato (3.9/5), requiring small, controlled pulls and releases of timing between the two pianists, and Phrasing (3.9/5), which demands shaping each line through variations in attack, arm weight and finger direction to make the cantilena sing. The piece, listed as op. 3, belongs to the Romantic period and reflects an early work of a composer attentive to harmonic color and the stylized sparkle of dance. I do not provide a reference recording here because I am not fully confident about a specific authoritative interpretation for this exact piece.

Formation

Two pianos · 2 performers

Required forces
Piano 2 performers
Playable parts
Piano I Piano II
MusicCoach difficulty
55/100
Intermediate
Likely range : 43–67/100
Confidence : 30% · to confirm
BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedVirtuoso
Exam grade
About grade 6

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
39%
Among Ernst von Dohnányi
41%
Era Romantic
83%
Genre
Estimated skills
Rhythm
Tempo rubato
1
Interpretation
Phrasing
2
Pedaling
Sustain pedal
1
Style
Romantic style
1
Technique
Legato
1
Interpretation
Dynamics
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.

See the whole progression