Repertoire › Ballade for Cello and Piano in C minor, op. 15 › What to play next
What to play after Ballade for Cello and Piano in C minor, op. 15 ?
Sergei Prokofiev · difficulty 67/100

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
Cello Concerto
William Walton
72/100 +5 pts 7-14 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in 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.
Gentle
Cello Sonata in E flat major
Arnold Bax
72/100 +6 pts 7-14 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in 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.
Gentle
Cello Sonata in C major, op. 65: I. Dialogo
Benjamin Britten
72/100 +6 pts 7-14 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in 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.
Gentle
Cello Sonata in C major, op. 65: III. Elegia
Benjamin Britten
71/100 +4 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 Vibrato (violoncelle) — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Gentle
Legend-Sonata, for cello and piano in F sharp minor
Arnold Bax
73/100 +6 pts 7-14 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in 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 step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Pampeana no. 2: Rhapsody for Cello and Piano, op. 21
Alberto Ginastera
78/100 +11 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: Vibrato (violoncelle) and Doigté complexe — what matters is a steady sustained tone: bow speed, contact point and pressure even, before any thought of speed.
Balanced
Rhapsody for Cello and Piano, BB94c, Sz.88
Béla Bartók
75/100 +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: Vibrato (violoncelle) and Position du pouce — what matters is a steady sustained tone: bow speed, contact point and pressure even, before any thought of speed.
Balanced
Nocturne and Scherzo for Cello and Piano, L.26
Claude Debussy
80/100 +13 pts 16-32 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Staccato and Vibrato (violoncelle) — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Balanced
Cello Concerto in E minor, op. 58
Sergei Prokofiev
80/100 +13 pts 16-32 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). 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
Concerto-Rhapsody for Cello and Orchestra in D minor
Aram Khachaturian
85/100 +18 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: Octaves and Style moderne et contemporain — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Challenge
Cello Sonata no. 2 in F major, op. 99
Johannes Brahms
82/100 +16 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: 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 Concerto no. 1 in E flat major, op. 107
Dmitri Shostakovich
82/100 +15 pts 32-64 weeks
partial transfer 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: 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.
Same level

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Same level
Sonata Movement, for cello and piano
Zoltán Kodály
66/100 same level 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: 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
Polonaise in A major, for cello and piano, B.94
Antonín Dvořák
67/100 +1 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: Détaché (violoncelle) and Rythmes pointés — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Same level
Polonaise, for cello and piano in A major, B.94
Antonín Dvořák
67/100 +1 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: Détaché (violoncelle) and Rythmes pointés — 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.