Repertoire › Tempo di valse, for cello and piano, JS 194 › What to play next
What to play after Tempo di valse, for cello and piano, JS 194 ?
Jean Sibelius · difficulty 52/100

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
2 Pieces for Cello and Piano, op. 2
Sergei Rachmaninoff
57/100 +5 pts 5-10 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Caractère et style — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Chants russes for Cello and Piano
Edouard Lalo
56/100 +4 pts 5-10 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Voix chantante and Vibrato (violoncelle) — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
Gentle
Intermezzo, for cello and orchestra
Claude Debussy
58/100 +6 pts 5-10 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Style impressionniste — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Pièce in C major, for cello and piano, op. 39
Ernest Chausson
56/100 +4 pts 5-10 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Voix chantante and Vibrato (violoncelle) — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
Gentle
Fantaisie for Cello and Orchestra
Jules Massenet
55/100 +3 pts 5-10 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). The demand here is musical rather than mechanical: Pédale de sustain — the pedal is set by ear, note by note: misjudged, it blurs the harmony instead of joining it.
Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Pohádka, for cello and piano, JW VII/5
Leoš Janáček
63/100 +11 pts 12-24 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Vibrato (violoncelle) and Intonation (violoncelle) — what matters is a steady sustained tone: bow speed, contact point and pressure even, before any thought of speed.
Balanced
Allegro agitato in A minor, for cello and piano
Gioachino Rossini
62/100 +10 pts 12-24 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Spiccato (violoncelle) — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Balanced
Ruralia Hungarica: Andande rubato, alla zingaresca, for cello and piano, op. 32d
Ernst von Dohnányi
65/100 +13 pts 12-24 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: Legato d'archet (violoncelle) — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Balanced
Malinconia, for cello and piano, op. 20
Jean Sibelius
60/100 +8 pts 12-24 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Vibrato (violoncelle) — 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
Cello Sonata in F major, op. 6, TrV115
Richard Strauss
70/100 +18 pts 24-48 weeks
partial transfer high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: 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.
Challenge
Polonaise in A major, for cello and piano, B.94
Antonín Dvořák
67/100 +15 pts 24-48 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Octaves and Rythmes pointés — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Challenge
Polonaise, for cello and piano in A major, B.94
Antonín Dvořák
67/100 +15 pts 24-48 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Octaves and Rythmes pointés — 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
Cello Sonata no. 1 in B-flat major, op. 45: II. Andante
Felix Mendelssohn
51/100 -1 pts 4-6 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 Legato d'archet (violoncelle) — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Same level
Suite pour violoncelle et piano, op. 16 : II. Sérénade
Camille Saint-Saëns
53/100 +1 pts 4-6 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: Position du pouce and Ornements baroque — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Same level
Albumblätter, for cello and piano, op. 51
Reinhold Glière
53/100 +1 pts 4-6 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: Vibrato (violoncelle) and Legato d'archet (violoncelle) — what matters is a steady sustained tone: bow speed, contact point and pressure even, before any thought of speed.
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.