Repertoire › Piano Phase, for 2 pianos › What to play next
What to play after Piano Phase, for 2 pianos ?
Steve Reich · difficulty 60/100

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
Suite for 2 pianos
Aram Khachaturian
65/100 +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: Style baroque and Ornements baroque — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Capriccio brillante on Russian themes in A major, for piano, 4 hands, G.v19
Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka
65/100 +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: Ornements romantiques and Indépendance des mains — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Gentle
En blanc et noir, for 2 pianos, L.134
Claude Debussy
65/100 +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: Demi-pédale — the pedal is set by ear, note by note: misjudged, it blurs the harmony instead of joining it.
Gentle
Fantasy for 2 pianos in F minor, op. 104
Alexander Glazunov
65/100 +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). The skill that will carry the work: Contrôle du toucher — what matters is quality of attack and evenness of tone, not speed.
Gentle
Sicilienne, for 2 pianos
Ned Rorem
65/100 +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). The skill that will carry the work: Indépendance des mains — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
L'Embarquement pour Cythère, for 2 pianos, FP150
Francis Poulenc
70/100 +10 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 moderne et contemporain and Indépendance des mains — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Balanced
4 Movements, for 2 pianos
Philip Glass
70/100 +10 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: Demi-pédale and Indépendance des mains — the pedal is set by ear, note by note: misjudged, it blurs the harmony instead of joining it.
Balanced
Hardanger, for 2 pianos
Arnold Bax
70/100 +10 pts 14-28 weeks
partial transfer 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 moderne et contemporain and Doubles notes — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Balanced
Sonata for 2 Pianos
Arnold Bax
68/100 +8 pts 12-24 weeks
partial transfer 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: 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.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
Concertino for 2 Pianos, op. 94
Dmitri Shostakovich
78/100 +18 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: Style moderne et contemporain — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Challenge
Sonata for 2 Pianos in F minor, op. 34b
Johannes Brahms
78/100 +18 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: Connaissance des formes — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Challenge
Sonata for 2 Pianos
Igor Stravinsky
75/100 +15 pts 28-56 weeks
new reflexes 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: 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.
Same level

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Same level
Sonata for 2 Pianos
Paul Hindemith
60/100 same level 4-7 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: 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.
Same level
Fantasy on Gershwin's 'Porgy and Bess,' for 2 pianos
Percy Grainger
60/100 same level 4-7 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: Style moderne et contemporain and Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Same level
2 Pieces for 2 Pianos, op. 23
Benjamin Britten
60/100 same level 4-7 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: Style moderne et contemporain — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
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.