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What to play after Violin Sonata in E minor ?
Felix Mendelssohn · difficulty 65/100

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Gentle step

The safest next step.

Gentle
Violin Sonata in F major, MWVQ26
Felix Mendelssohn
70/100 +5 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Legato d'archet and Connaissance des formes — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Gentle
Violin Sonata no. 1 in A minor, op. 105
Robert Schumann
70/100 +4 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Legato d'archet and Analyse harmonique — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Gentle
Violin Sonata no. 1 in G major, op. 78
Johannes Brahms
69/100 +4 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Voix chantante and Positions hautes — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
Gentle
Violin Sonata in F
Felix Mendelssohn
69/100 +4 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Legato d'archet and Connaissance des formes — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Gentle
Violin Sonata in F major, JS 178
Jean Sibelius
68/100 +3 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Vibrato and Legato d'archet — what matters is a steady sustained tone: bow speed, contact point and pressure even, before any thought of speed.
Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Violin Sonata no. 3 in D minor, op. 108
Johannes Brahms
77/100 +12 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: Legato d'archet and Connaissance des formes — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Balanced
Sonata for violin and piano no. 2, op. 79
Charles-Marie Widor
75/100 +10 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: Positions hautes and Vibrato — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Balanced
Violin Sonata in G minor, L.140
Claude Debussy
75/100 +10 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: Legato d'archet and Connaissance des formes — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Balanced
Violin Sonata no. 2 in E minor, op. 108
Gabriel Fauré
74/100 +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: Positions hautes and Connaissance des formes — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
Violin Sonata no. 3 in A minor, op. 25, "Dans le caractere populaire roumain"
George Enescu
82/100 +17 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: Positions hautes and Doigté complexe — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Challenge
Violin Concerto in D minor
Felix Mendelssohn
82/100 +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. The skill that will carry the work: Analyse harmonique — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Challenge
Violin Sonata no. 9 in A major, op. 47, "Kreutzer"
Ludwig van Beethoven
80/100 +15 pts 32-64 weeks
close skills moderate 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: Trilles and Rythme d'archet complexe — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Same level

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Same level
Valse-scherzo, for violin and orchestra in C major, op. 34
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
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: Staccato — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Same level
Romance for Violin and Orchestra no. 2 in F major, op. 50
Ludwig van Beethoven
62/100 -3 pts 4-7 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, right at the edge of Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM): different ground, same level. What changes is the skill in play: Voix chantante — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
Same level
Suite, for violin and piano, op. 11 in D
Karl Goldmark
62/100 -3 pts 4-7 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, right at the edge of Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM): different ground, same level. What changes is the skill in play: Style baroque and Ornements baroque — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
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.