Repertoire › Violin Sonata › What to play next
What to play after Violin Sonata ?
Wolfgang Rihm · difficulty 80/100

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.

Back to the full work page
Gentle step

The safest next step.

Gentle
Violin Sonata in G minor, B.g5, "The Devil's Trill"
Giuseppe Tartini
85/100 +5 pts 8-16 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Trilles et ornements (violon) and Style baroque — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Gentle
Sonata no. 2 for Solo Violin in A minor, BWV.1003
Johann Sebastian Bach
85/100 +5 pts 8-16 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Intonation and Style baroque — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Gentle
Sonata no. 3 for Solo Violin in C major, BWV.1005
Johann Sebastian Bach
84/100 +4 pts 8-16 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Positions hautes and Style baroque — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Gentle
Violin Sonata, op. 134
Dmitri Shostakovich
84/100 +4 pts 8-16 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Style moderne et contemporain and Passages rapides — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Violin Sonata no. 1 in C sharp minor, op. 21, BB84, Sz.75
Béla Bartók
83/100 +3 pts 8-16 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Style moderne et contemporain and Rythme d'archet complexe — 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
Dikhthas, for violin and piano
Iannis Xenakis
90/100 +10 pts 16-32 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Rythme d'archet complexe and Positions hautes — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Balanced
Sonata for Violin Solo, BB124, Sz.117
Béla Bartók
89/100 +9 pts 16-32 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Doubles cordes and Style moderne et contemporain — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Balanced
Violin Sonata in F minor, "Au tombeau d'après la sonate de Pietro Antonio Locatelli"
Eugene Ysaÿe
94/100 +14 pts 18-36 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Positions hautes and Doigté complexe — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
Violin Sonata no. 3
Eugene Ysaÿe
96/100 +16 pts 36-72 weeks
close skills high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap while staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Positions hautes and Doigté complexe — 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
Rhapsody for Violin and Piano no. 1, BB94a, Sz.86
Béla Bartók
80/100 same level 5-8 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, right at the edge of Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM): different ground, same level. What changes is the skill in play: Octaves and Style moderne et contemporain — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Same level
Partita no. 3 for Solo Violin in E major, BWV.1006
Johann Sebastian Bach
81/100 +1 pts 6-9 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Positions hautes and Style baroque — 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.