Que jouer après Cello Sonata no. 2, H.286 ?

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

Cello Sonata, op. 6: III. Allegro appassionato

Samuel Barber

73/100 +4 pts 7-14 weeks

close skills low risk to confirm

A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Détaché (violoncelle) and Connaissance des formes — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.

Gentle

Cello Sonata no. 1, H.277

Bohuslav Martinů

74/100 +6 pts 7-14 weeks

close skills low risk to confirm

A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Vibrato (violoncelle) and Legato d'archet (violoncelle) — what matters is a steady sustained tone: bow speed, contact point and pressure even, before any thought of speed.

Gentle

Cello Sonata in C major, op. 65: I. Dialogo

Benjamin Britten

72/100 +4 pts 7-14 weeks

close skills low risk to confirm

A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Voix chantante and Connaissance des formes — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.

Gentle

Cello Sonata in C major, op. 65: IV. Marcia

Benjamin Britten

72/100 +3 pts 7-14 weeks

close skills low risk to confirm

Gentle

Cello Sonata no. 3, H.340

Bohuslav Martinů

71/100 +3 pts 7-14 weeks

close skills low risk to confirm

Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced

Cello Sonata, op. 40

Dmitri Shostakovich

79/100 +11 pts 14-28 weeks

close skills moderate risk to confirm

A real step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Doigté complexe and Connaissance des formes — settle and write in both fingering and bowings at first reading: changing them later costs weeks.

Balanced

Cello Sonata, op. 49: IV. Allegro con fuoco

Alberto Ginastera

77/100 +9 pts 14-28 weeks

close skills moderate risk to confirm

A real step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Ornements romantiques and Détaché (violoncelle) — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.

Balanced

Cello Sonata in C major, op. 119

Sergei Prokofiev

77/100 +9 pts 14-28 weeks

close skills moderate risk to confirm

A real step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Doigté complexe and Vibrato (violoncelle) — settle and write in both fingering and bowings at first reading: changing them later costs weeks.

Balanced

Cello Sonata in C major, op. 65

Benjamin Britten

77/100 +8 pts 14-28 weeks

close skills moderate risk to confirm

A real step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Connaissance des formes and Style moderne et contemporain — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.

Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge

Sonata for Solo Cello

György Ligeti

86/100 +18 pts 32-64 weeks

close skills high risk to confirm

An ambitious leap into Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Position du pouce and Connaissance des formes — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.

Challenge

Concerto-Rhapsody for Cello and Orchestra in D minor

Aram Khachaturian

85/100 +17 pts 32-64 weeks

partial transfer high risk to confirm

An ambitious leap into Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Octaves and Style moderne et contemporain — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.

Challenge

Schelomo, rhapsody for cello and orchestra

Ernest Bloch

90/100 +22 pts 36-72 weeks

partial transfer high risk to confirm

Same level

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Same level

Variations on a Slovak Folksong, for cello and piano, H.378

Bohuslav Martinů

68/100 same level 4-7 weeks

close skills low risk to confirm

Equivalent demands, still Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. The skill that will carry the work: Connaissance des formes and Style moderne et contemporain — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.

Same level

Ballade for Cello and Piano in C minor, op. 15

Sergei Prokofiev

67/100 -2 pts 4-7 weeks

partial transfer low risk to confirm

Equivalent demands, still Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Octaves and Voix chantante — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.

Same level

Suite no. 1 for Solo Cello

Ernest Bloch

71/100 +3 pts 5-8 weeks

partial transfer low risk to confirm

Equivalent demands, still Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Position du pouce and Style baroque — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.

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.