Fantasy in C major, op. 16, M.28
Romantic Fantasia Piano solo ~11 min
In brief

César Franck's Fantasy in C major unfolds in a rhapsodic flow alternating singing lyrical episodes and passionate surges, with harmonic progressions that require clear articulation so the melodic line remains audible amid dense chords. Technical points to work on: Tempo rubato (3.1/5) — this means making small rhythmic inflections without losing the underlying pulse, so practice releasing or pressing the right-hand gesture while the left hand keeps a steady foundation; Sustain pedal (3.1/5) — you must balance pedal use to connect harmonic resonances without muddying the voices, coordinating precise pedal changes with harmonic shifts. The piece belongs to the Romantic period and is part of Franck's piano repertoire, showing the freer formal character typical of a fantasy. I do not give a reference interpretation here because I am not 100% certain of a specific recording to recommend.

Listen to this work

No verified recording for this work yet. We add more every week.

Sheet music

Public-domain sheet music on IMSLP ↗

Is this the right work?
MusicCoach difficulty
62/100
Intermediate
Likely range : 50–74/100
Confidence : 32% · 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.

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.

Add a note (optional)

Your note is not published on the site: it is read in review.

Relative difficulty
64%
Among César Franck
60%
Era Romantic
56%
Genre
Estimated skills
Pedaling
Sustain pedal
1
Style
Romantic style
1
Rhythm
Tempo rubato
1
Style
Character and style
1
Interpretation
Phrasing
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