Repertoire › Partita, op. 2 › What to play next
What to play after Partita, op. 2 ?
Arvo Pärt · difficulty 61/100

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
Harpsichord Suite in D minor, HWV.447
George Frideric Handel
65/100 +4 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Indépendance des mains and Style baroque — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Harpsichord Suite in D minor, HWV.436
George Frideric Handel
65/100 +4 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Indépendance des mains and Style baroque — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Partita no. 5 in G major, BWV.829
Johann Sebastian Bach
67/100 +6 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Polyphonie à deux voix and Style baroque — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Suite for Piano, op. 14, BB70, Sz.62
Béla Bartók
68/100 +6 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Style moderne et contemporain and Polyphonie à deux voix — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Partita no. 3 in A minor, BWV.827
Johann Sebastian Bach
70/100 +9 pts 14-28 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Balance mains and Style baroque — what matters is quality of attack and evenness of tone, not speed.
Balanced
Partita in F major, Hob.XVIIa:2
Franz Joseph Haydn
70/100 +9 pts 14-28 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Style classique and Analyse harmonique — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Balanced
Partita no. 1 in B flat major, BWV.825
Johann Sebastian Bach
70/100 +9 pts 12-24 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Staccato and Style baroque — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
Suite, op. 5
Maurice Duruflé
75/100 +14 pts 14-28 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Style moderne et contemporain and Indépendance des mains — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
Partita no. 6 in E minor, BWV.830
Johann Sebastian Bach
80/100 +19 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: Balance mains and Style baroque — what matters is quality of attack and evenness of tone, not speed.
Challenge
Chaconne from Partita no. 2 d minor
Johann Sebastian Bach
76/100 +15 pts 28-56 weeks
new reflexes high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Passages rapides — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Challenge
Bach: Prelude, Gavotte, and Gigue from Partita in E for Solo Violin, TN iii/1
Sergei Rachmaninoff
83/100 +22 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. The skill that will carry the work: Style baroque and Ornements baroque — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Same level

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Same level
Fugue b minor HWV 608
George Frideric Handel
60/100 -1 pts 4-6 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Polyphonie à deux voix — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Same level
WTC I Prelude and Fugue in F-sharp minor BWV 859
Johann Sebastian Bach
59/100 -2 pts 4-6 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: 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.
Same level
Well-Tempered Clavier Book I No.2 in C minor BWV 847
Johann Sebastian Bach
59/100 -2 pts 4-6 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Analyse harmonique and Polyphonie à deux voix — 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.