Que jouer après Adagio for Cello and Piano, op. 97bis ?

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, H.20

Arthur Honegger

67/100 +5 pts 6-12 weeks

partial transfer 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: Vibrato (violoncelle) and Connaissance des formes — what matters is a steady sustained tone: bow speed, contact point and pressure even, before any thought of speed.

Gentle

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

Sergei Prokofiev

67/100 +5 pts 6-12 weeks

partial transfer 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: Octaves and Voix chantante — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.

Gentle

Meditation Hébraïque, for cello and piano

Ernest Bloch

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: Vibrato (violoncelle) and Intonation (violoncelle) — what matters is a steady sustained tone: bow speed, contact point and pressure even, before any thought of speed.

Gentle

Cello Sonata, FP143

Francis Poulenc

68/100 +6 pts 6-12 weeks

close skills low risk to confirm

Gentle

A Song of Orpheus: Fantasy for Cello and Orchestra

William Schuman

65/100 +3 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). 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.

Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced

Legend-Sonata, for cello and piano in F sharp minor

Arnold Bax

73/100 +11 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: Connaissance des formes and Vibrato (violoncelle) — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.

Balanced

Cello Sonata in E flat major

Arnold Bax

72/100 +10 pts 14-28 weeks

partial transfer moderate risk to confirm

Balanced

Cello Sonata in C major, op. 65: II. Scherzo: pizzicato

Benjamin Britten

72/100 +10 pts 14-28 weeks

close skills moderate risk to confirm

Balanced

Cello Concerto

William Walton

72/100 +10 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). 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

Cello Concerto in E minor, op. 58

Sergei Prokofiev

80/100 +18 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: Style moderne et contemporain — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.

Challenge

Cello Sonata, op. 40

Dmitri Shostakovich

79/100 +17 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: Connaissance des formes and Vibrato (violoncelle) — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.

Challenge

Cello Sonata in C major, op. 119

Sergei Prokofiev

77/100 +15 pts 28-56 weeks

partial transfer moderate 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: Vibrato (violoncelle) and Connaissance des formes — what matters is a steady sustained tone: bow speed, contact point and pressure even, before any thought of speed.

Same level

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Same level

Ghirlarzana, for solo cello

Jacques Ibert

61/100 -1 pts 4-7 weeks

partial transfer low risk to confirm

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

Same level

Cello Suite no. 1, op. 72: 2. Lamento. Lento rubato

Benjamin Britten

65/100 +3 pts 4-7 weeks

partial transfer low risk to confirm

Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 7 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.

Same level

Cello Sonata in B flat major, op. 71

Dmitry Kabalevsky

59/100 -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: Vibrato (violoncelle) and Connaissance des formes — what matters is a steady sustained tone: bow speed, contact point and pressure even, before any thought of speed.

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.