Repertoire › Sonata Op.57 (Appassionata) › What to play next
What to play after Sonata Op.57 (Appassionata) ?
Ludwig van Beethoven · difficulty 81/100

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
Piano Sonata in B minor S.178
Franz Liszt
86/100 +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: Demi-pédale and Trilles — the pedal is set by ear, note by note: misjudged, it blurs the harmony instead of joining it.
Gentle
Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2
Franz Liszt
87/100 +6 pts 8-16 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). 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
Liszt: Cadenza on Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2, TN iii/6
Sergei Rachmaninoff
92/100 +11 pts 18-36 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: Ornements romantiques and Rythmes pointés — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Balanced
Piano Sonata no. 32 in C minor, op. 111
Ludwig van Beethoven
92/100 +11 pts 18-36 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). The skill that will carry the work: Connaissance des formes and Passages rapides — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Balanced
Rhapsodie espagnole, S.254, R.90, "Folies d'Espagne et jota aragonesa"
Franz Liszt
95/100 +14 pts 18-36 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in 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
Piano Sonata no. 29 in B flat major, op. 106, "Hammerklavier"
Ludwig van Beethoven
95/100 +14 pts 18-36 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: Indépendance des mains and Connaissance des formes — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
Sonata in G major, K.470, L.304
Domenico Scarlatti
99/100 +18 pts 36-72 weeks
partial transfer 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: Style baroque and Ornements baroque — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Challenge
Sonata in G major, K.455, L.209
Domenico Scarlatti
98/100 +17 pts 36-72 weeks
partial transfer 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: Style baroque and Ornements baroque — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Challenge
Piano Sonata no. 24 in F sharp major, op. 78
Ludwig van Beethoven
73/100 -9 pts 28-56 weeks
new reflexes moderate risk to confirm
Next piece in the same collection, Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM): the order its editor chose, a progression already tested. The skill that will carry the work: Connaissance des formes — 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
Ballade No.3 in A-flat major Op.47
Frédéric Chopin
79/100 -2 pts 5-8 weeks
partial transfer 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: Indépendance des mains and Demi-pédale — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Same level
Ballade No.2 in F major Op.38
Frédéric Chopin
79/100 -3 pts 5-8 weeks
partial transfer 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: Demi-pédale and Connaissance des formes — the pedal is set by ear, note by note: misjudged, it blurs the harmony instead of joining it.
Same level
Piano Sonata (Tempest) d minor op. 31,2
Ludwig van Beethoven
78/100 -3 pts 5-8 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Next piece in the same collection, Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM): the order its editor chose, a progression already tested. 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.
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.