Repertoire › Ballade, for piano no. 2 in B minor, S.170a › What to play next
What to play after Ballade, for piano no. 2 in B minor, S.170a ?
Franz Liszt · difficulty 80/100

Choose your level of commitment: consolidate, move up a tier or prepare a challenge. The top-ranked cards combine difficulty, risk, shared skills and confidence.

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Gentle step

The safest next step.

Gentle
Ballade no. 1, S.170, "Le Chant du Croise"
Franz Liszt
85/100 +5 pts 8-16 weeks
close skills low risk fair confidence
A short step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Indépendance des mains — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Scherzo no. 3 in F sharp minor
Mily Balakirev
85/100 +5 pts 8-16 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Staccato — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Scherzo no. 1 in B minor
Mily Balakirev
85/100 +5 pts 8-16 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Staccato — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Scherzo and March, S.177
Franz Liszt
84/100 +4 pts 8-16 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Staccato — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Polonaise no. 6 in A flat major, op. 53, "Heroic"
Frédéric Chopin
84/100 +4 pts 8-16 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Rythmes pointés and Passages rapides — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Liszt: Cadenza on Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2, TN iii/6
Sergei Rachmaninoff
92/100 +12 pts 18-36 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Rythmes pointés and Ornements romantiques — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Balanced
3 Odes funèbres, S.517
Franz Liszt
89/100 +9 pts 16-32 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Doubles notes — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
Réminiscences de 'Lucia di Lammermoor', S.397
Franz Liszt
88/100 +8 pts 16-32 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). The skill that will carry the work: Passages rapides — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
Rhapsodie espagnole, S.254, R.90, "Folies d'Espagne et jota aragonesa"
Franz Liszt
95/100 +15 pts 36-72 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
An ambitious leap while staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Doubles notes — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Challenge
Concert Paraphrase of 'Ernani', S.432
Franz Liszt
95/100 +15 pts 36-72 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
An ambitious leap while staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Demi-pédale and Passages rapides — the pedal is set by ear, note by note: misjudged, it blurs the harmony instead of joining it.
Challenge
Piano Sonata no. 29 in B flat major, op. 106, "Hammerklavier"
Ludwig van Beethoven
95/100 +15 pts 36-72 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
An ambitious leap while staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Same level

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Same level
Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 in C-sharp minor S.244
Franz Liszt
80/100 same level 5-8 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, right at the edge of Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM): different ground, same level. What changes is the skill in play: Rythmes pointés and Ornements romantiques — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Same level
Hungarian Rhapsody no. 8
Franz Liszt
80/100 same level 5-8 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, right at the edge of Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM): different ground, same level. The skill that will carry the work: Contrôle du toucher — what matters is quality of attack and evenness of tone, not speed.
Same level
Scherzo in E flat minor, op. 4
Johannes Brahms
77/100 -3 pts 5-8 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, right at the edge of Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM): different ground, same level. What changes is the skill in play: Staccato — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Progressions computed from difficulty, skill overlap and style between works. A What do we play next? recommendation should remain a pedagogical starting point, not an automatic prescription.