Repertoire › Scherzo and March, S.177 › What to play next
What to play after Scherzo and March, S.177 ?
Franz Liszt · difficulty 84/100

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
Toccata for piano
Franz Schmidt
88/100 +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: Doubles notes — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Toccata in C sharp minor
Mily Balakirev
90/100 +6 pts 9-18 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). The skill that will carry the work: Staccato — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Toccata: Preludio, Fantasia, Ciaccona, KiV 287
Ferruccio Busoni
90/100 +6 pts 9-18 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). The skill that will carry the work: Staccato — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Toccata, S.197a, R.60
Franz Liszt
91/100 +7 pts 9-18 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). The skill that will carry the work: Staccato — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Mephisto Waltz no. 2, S.515
Franz Liszt
91/100 +7 pts 9-18 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: Trilles — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV.565
Ferruccio Busoni
95/100 +11 pts 18-36 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Analyse harmonique and Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Balanced
Mephisto Waltz no. 4, S.696
Franz Liszt
92/100 +8 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: Trilles and Rythmes pointés — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
Grande paraphrase de la marche pour Sa Majesté le sultan Abdul Medjid-Khan, S.403, R.157
Franz Liszt
92/100 +8 pts 18-36 weeks
partial transfer 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.
Balanced
Liszt: Cadenza on Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2, TN iii/6
Sergei Rachmaninoff
92/100 +8 pts 18-36 weeks
partial transfer 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.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
Ab irato, S.143, "The Perfect Etude"
Franz Liszt
100/100 +16 pts 40-80 weeks
partial transfer high 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: Gammes et arpèges and Demi-pédale — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Challenge
A.r.
Iannis Xenakis
100/100 +16 pts 40-80 weeks
new reflexes high 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: Technique générale — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Challenge
Sonata in G major, K.470, L.304
Domenico Scarlatti
99/100 +15 pts 36-72 weeks
new reflexes 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 and Style baroque — 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
Polonaise no. 6 in A flat major, op. 53, "Heroic"
Frédéric Chopin
84/100 same level 6-9 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Rythmes pointés and Passages rapides — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Same level
Mephisto Waltz No.1 S.514
Franz Liszt
82/100 -2 pts 6-9 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Trilles — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Same level
Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2
Franz Liszt
87/100 +3 pts 6-9 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8): what changes is the ground. 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.
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.