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.
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.
Does this rating look right to you?
This rating is computed automatically from heterogeneous sources. It gets things wrong, sometimes badly. If you know this work, your answer is worth more than our computation: it tells us which ratings to review.
Each suggestion combines difficulty gap, risk, confidence and skill overlap. The first two cards in each column are the most useful pedagogically.
The safest next step.
A genuine step up, without a jolt.
A useful leap with guided practice.
The piece has a pastoral, playful character, built around springy motifs set against more singing lines that call for clarity and lightness. You will face specific technical demands on Nuances (2.5/5) — requiring fine dynamic control from the arm and fingers so accents don't overpower the phrasing — and on Staccato (2.5/5) and Legato (2.5/5): the staccato needs a clean attack and quick wrist recovery, while the legato requires precise finger substitution and smooth digital connection between notes. The exact dating or place of this work in Dutilleux's catalogue is not well documented (period listed: unknown), though it stands among his solo piano contributions. I do not give a reference interpretation here because I am not fully certain of a definitive recording for this specific piece.