Repertoire › Ballade No.1 in G minor Op.23 › What to play next
What to play after Ballade No.1 in G minor Op.23 ?
Frédéric Chopin · difficulty 71/100

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
Polonaise in A major Op.40 No.1 (Military)
Frédéric Chopin
76/100 +5 pts 7-14 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Rythmes pointés and Demi-pédale — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Gentle
Ballade, op. 46
Samuel Barber
75/100 +4 pts 7-14 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Style moderne et contemporain and Octaves — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Polonaise G flat major KK IVa,8
Frédéric Chopin
74/100 +4 pts 7-14 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Octaves — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Rhapsody in G minor Op.79 No.2
Johannes Brahms
77/100 +7 pts 7-14 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Passages rapides — 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
Ballade, for piano no. 2 in B minor, S.170a
Franz Liszt
80/100 +9 pts 16-32 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). The skill that will carry the work: Octaves — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
Ballade in the Form of Variations on an Norwegian Melody in G minor, op. 24
Edvard Grieg
80/100 +9 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: 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.
Balanced
Ballade No.3 in A-flat major Op.47
Frédéric Chopin
79/100 +9 pts 14-28 weeks
close skills moderate risk fair confidence
A real step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 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.
Balanced
Ballade No.2 in F major Op.38
Frédéric Chopin
79/100 +8 pts 14-28 weeks
close skills moderate risk fair confidence
Next piece in the same collection, Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM): the order its editor chose, a progression already tested. New compared with the previous piece: Rythmes pointés and Demi-pédale — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
Hungarian Rhapsody no. 1
Franz Liszt
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: Doubles notes — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Challenge
Hungarian Rhapsody no. 4
Franz Liszt
86/100 +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: Polyrhythmie 2 contre 3 — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Same level

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Same level
Valse-Scherzo op. 34
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
69/100 -1 pts 4-7 weeks
partial transfer 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: Staccato — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Same level
Polonaises, op. 71
Frédéric Chopin
72/100 +2 pts 5-8 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Ornements romantiques and Passages rapides — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Same level
Scherzo No.2 in B-flat minor Op.31
Frédéric Chopin
73/100 +3 pts 5-8 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Staccato — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
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.