Repertoire › Fratres, for cello and piano › What to play next
What to play after Fratres, for cello and piano ?
Arvo Pärt · difficulty 65/100

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
...et l'Angelus sonna..., Op.34
Charles Lagourgue
70/100 +5 pts 7-14 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Style impressionniste — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Cello Sonata in C major, op. 65: III. Elegia
Benjamin Britten
71/100 +6 pts 7-14 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: 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.
Gentle
Grave, for cello and piano
Witold Lutoslawski
69/100 +4 pts 6-12 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Passages rapides and Analyse harmonique — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Gentle
Cello Sonata no. 2, op. 58
Felix Mendelssohn
69/100 +4 pts 6-12 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes and Legato d'archet (violoncelle) — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Gentle
Cello Sonata in A minor, op. 36
Edvard Grieg
69/100 +4 pts 6-12 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Legato d'archet (violoncelle) and Connaissance des formes — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Cello Concerto in D minor
Edouard Lalo
76/100 +11 pts 14-28 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Contrôle du toucher — what matters is a steady sustained tone: bow speed, contact point and pressure even, before any thought of speed.
Balanced
Cello Sonata in C major, op. 65: V. Moto perpetuo
Benjamin Britten
74/100 +9 pts 14-28 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: 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.
Balanced
Cello Sonata in D minor, L.135
Claude Debussy
78/100 +13 pts 14-28 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes and Legato d'archet (violoncelle) — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Balanced
Cello Sonata no. 4 in C major, op. 102, no. 1
Ludwig van Beethoven
73/100 +8 pts 14-28 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes and Legato d'archet (violoncelle) — 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
Cello Sonata no. 2 in F major, op. 99
Johannes Brahms
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. New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes and Legato d'archet (violoncelle) — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Challenge
Sonata for Cello Solo, op. 28
Eugene Ysaÿe
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. 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
Suites G major, d minor, a minor op. 131c
Max Reger
84/100 +19 pts 32-64 weeks
new reflexes 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: Polyphonie à deux voix and Style baroque — 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
Pro et contra: Concerto for Cello and Orchestra
Arvo Pärt
65/100 same level 4-7 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. The demand here is musical rather than mechanical: Nuances — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
Same level
Cello Sonata no. 2 in G minor, op. 117
Gabriel Fauré
64/100 -1 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: Connaissance des formes and Legato d'archet (violoncelle) — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Same level
Cello Sonata no. 1 in D minor, op. 109
Gabriel Fauré
64/100 -1 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: Connaissance des formes and Legato d'archet (violoncelle) — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
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.