Canon for 4 voices, EG 179
Romantic Piano solo ~2 min
In brief

The piece reads as a small contrapuntal conversation with four voices answering and blending gradually, calling for clear articulation and a gentle lyrical shaping rather than virtuosic display. The main technical challenges are Tempo rubato (3.1/5), which here requires measured, small tempo flexes to let each entry breathe without breaking the imitation between voices, and Pédale de sustain (3.1/5), which demands precise pedaling to join resonances without blurring the contrapuntal lines; this will require fine control of both hands to preserve voice independence. From the Romantic period, the work belongs to Grieg's shorter piano pieces that revisit older forms through a personal romantic idiom. I do not provide a reference recording because I am not certain of a single widely recognized interpretation for this specific work.

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
86%
Among Edvard Grieg
55%
Era Romantic
Genre
Estimated skills
Pedaling
Sustain pedal
1
Style
Romantic style
1
Rhythm
Tempo rubato
1
Interpretation
Dynamics
1
Technique
Three-or-more-voice polyphony
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