Repertoire › Dance Suite, for 2 pianos › What to play next
What to play after Dance Suite, for 2 pianos ?
Ned Rorem · difficulty 65/100

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
4 Movements, for 2 pianos
Philip Glass
70/100 +5 pts 7-14 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Indépendance des mains and Demi-pédale — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
3 Quarter-Tone Pieces, for 2 pianos
Charles Ives
70/100 +5 pts 7-14 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: 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.
Gentle
Sonata for 2 Pianos
Arnold Bax
68/100 +3 pts 6-12 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Analyse harmonique and Style moderne et contemporain — 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
Suite no. 2 for 2 Pianos, op. 17
Sergei Rachmaninoff
75/100 +10 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: Indépendance des mains and Style baroque — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
Scaramouche: Suite for 2 Pianos, op. 165b
Darius Milhaud
75/100 +10 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: 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 movement for 2 pianos, 8 hands in E minor, JB 1:47
Bedrich Smetana
75/100 +10 pts 14-28 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Analyse harmonique and Doubles notes — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Balanced
Sonata for 2 Pianos in F minor, op. 34b
Johannes Brahms
78/100 +13 pts 14-28 weeks
new reflexes moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Analyse harmonique — 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
Variations on a Theme of Beethoven in E flat major, for 2 pianos, op. 35
Camille Saint-Saëns
85/100 +20 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: Analyse harmonique — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Challenge
Piano Concerto no. 2 in A major, for 2 pianos, S.651
Franz Liszt
85/100 +20 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: Passages rapides and Ornements romantiques — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Challenge
Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Mozart for 2 pianos, op. 132a
Max Reger
80/100 +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: Analyse harmonique and Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus — 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
Green Bushes, passacaglia for 2 pianos, 6 hands
Percy Grainger
65/100 same level 4-7 weeks
new reflexes 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: 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
Piano Sonata, 4 hands
Paul Hindemith
65/100 same level 4-7 weeks
new reflexes 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: Analyse harmonique and Style moderne et contemporain — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Same level
Capriccio brillante on Russian themes in A major, for piano, 4 hands, G.v19
Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka
65/100 same level 4-7 weeks
new reflexes 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: 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.
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.