Repertoire › Bragatissimo, for cello, bandoneon and piano › What to play next
What to play after Bragatissimo, for cello, bandoneon and piano ?
Astor Piazzolla · difficulty 52/100

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
Siciliana, for cello and piano
Joaquín Rodrigo
56/100 +4 pts 5-10 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Rythmes pointés and Style moderne et contemporain — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Gentle
Cello Sonata, op. 11, no. 3 (second version): II. Lansam-sehr Lebhaft
Paul Hindemith
59/100 +7 pts 5-10 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 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.
Gentle
Cello Sonata in E
Paul Hindemith
55/100 +3 pts 5-10 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 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.
Gentle
Fantasia, for cello and orchestra, A.454
Heitor Villa-Lobos
55/100 +3 pts 5-10 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Indépendance des mains and Style moderne et contemporain — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Gentle
Legend, for cello and piano
Arnold Bax
59/100 +7 pts 5-10 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Legato d'archet (violoncelle) and Style moderne et contemporain — 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
Folk Tale for Cello and Piano
Arnold Bax
63/100 +11 pts 12-24 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Legato d'archet (violoncelle) and Style moderne et contemporain — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Balanced
Variations on a Theme by Rossini, for cello and piano, op. 290
Bohuslav Martinů
63/100 +11 pts 12-24 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (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.
Balanced
Cello Sonata, op. 377
Darius Milhaud
62/100 +10 pts 12-24 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (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
A Song of Orpheus: Fantasy for Cello and Orchestra
William Schuman
65/100 +13 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). The skill that will carry the work: Style moderne et contemporain — 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
Suite no. 1 for Solo Cello
Ernest Bloch
71/100 +19 pts 28-56 weeks
partial transfer 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: Position du pouce and Style baroque — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Challenge
Cello Sonata, H.20
Arthur Honegger
67/100 +15 pts 24-48 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. 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.
Challenge
Le grand tango, for cello and piano
Astor Piazzolla
67/100 +15 pts 24-48 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. The skill that will carry the work: Style moderne et contemporain and Vibrato (violoncelle) — 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
3 Pieces for Cello and Piano, op. 8
Paul Hindemith
54/100 +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: 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.
Same level
Lament, for cello and piano
Aaron Copland
50/100 -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: Voix chantante and Legato d'archet (violoncelle) — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
Same level
Cello Sonata in E
Paul Hindemith
55/100 +3 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: 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.
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.