Repertoire › Violin Concerto no. 2 › What to play next
What to play after Violin Concerto no. 2 ?
Alfred Schnittke · difficulty 70/100

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
Violin Concerto no. 6 in G minor, op. 28
Louis Spohr
75/100 +5 pts 7-14 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Ornements romantiques — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Gentle
Violin Concerto no. 9 in D minor, op. 55
Louis Spohr
75/100 +5 pts 7-14 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Ornements romantiques — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Gentle
Inno patriotico in A major, Allegro and 6 Variations for solo violin, MS81
Niccolò Paganini
74/100 +4 pts 7-14 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Positions hautes and Connaissance des formes — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Gentle
Violin Sonata no. 1
Alfred Schnittke
77/100 +7 pts 7-14 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Vibrato and Legato d'archet — what matters is a steady sustained tone: bow speed, contact point and pressure even, before any thought of speed.
Gentle
Violin Sonata
Alfred Schnittke
77/100 +7 pts 7-14 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Vibrato and Legato d'archet — what matters is a steady sustained tone: bow speed, contact point and pressure even, before any thought of speed.
Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Toccata, for violin and piano
William Walton
80/100 +10 pts 16-32 weeks
new reflexes 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: Passages rapides and Style moderne et contemporain — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Balanced
Violin Concerto no. 4
Alfred Schnittke
80/100 +10 pts 16-32 weeks
new reflexes 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: Passages rapides — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Balanced
Fantasia in C for Violin and Piano, D.934, op. posth.159, "Sei mir gegrüsst!"
Franz Schubert
84/100 +14 pts 16-32 weeks
new reflexes 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: Vibrato and Passages rapides — what matters is a steady sustained tone: bow speed, contact point and pressure even, before any thought of speed.
Balanced
Violin Sonata no. 2, "Quasi una sonata"
Alfred Schnittke
78/100 +8 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: Vibrato and Legato d'archet — what matters is a steady sustained tone: bow speed, contact point and pressure even, before any thought of speed.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
Violin Concerto in D major, op. 35
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
89/100 +19 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: Indépendance des mains — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Challenge
Cadenza (Wolfgang Schneiderhan)
Eugene Ysaÿe
86/100 +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: Passages rapides and Doigté complexe — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Challenge
Fantasy for Violin and Piano, op. 47
Arnold Schoenberg
85/100 +15 pts 32-64 weeks
new reflexes 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: Style moderne et contemporain — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Same level

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Same level
6 Humoresques for Violin and Orchestra, op. 87 and 89
Jean Sibelius
70/100 same level 5-8 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: Indépendance des mains and Ornements romantiques — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Same level
Violin Concerto no. 1 in A major, op. 1
Louis Spohr
70/100 same level 5-8 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. The skill that will carry the work: Ornements romantiques — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Same level
4 Bagatelles for Violin and Piano, op. 28, KiV 229
Ferruccio Busoni
68/100 -2 pts 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: Passages rapides and Ornements romantiques — 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.