Repertoire › Violin Concerto no. 2, op. 61, M71 › What to play next
What to play after Violin Concerto no. 2, op. 61, M71 ?
Karol Szymanowski · difficulty 72/100

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
Nocturne et Tarentelle, for violin and piano, op. 28
Karol Szymanowski
77/100 +5 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: Voix chantante and Legato d'archet — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
Gentle
Violin Sonata in D minor, op. 9
Karol Szymanowski
77/100 +5 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
Fantaisie-ballet, for violin and orchestra
Edouard Lalo
75/100 +3 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: Doubles notes — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Gentle
Violin Concerto no. 10 in A major, op. 62
Louis Spohr
75/100 +3 pts 7-14 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). The demand here is musical rather than mechanical: Nuances — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
Gentle
Violin Concerto no. 1 in D minor, op. 27
Ernst von Dohnányi
79/100 +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: Contrôle du toucher — 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
3 Myths, for violin and piano, op. 30
Karol Szymanowski
83/100 +11 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). 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 Concerto in A minor, op. 53
Antonín Dvořák
83/100 +11 pts 16-32 weeks
close skills 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
Violin Concerto in D minor
Felix Mendelssohn
82/100 +10 pts 16-32 weeks
close skills 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: Analyse harmonique — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Balanced
Violin Concerto
Felix Mendelssohn
80/100 +8 pts 16-32 weeks
close skills 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: 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
Tzigane: Rhapsodie de concert, for violin and piano
Maurice Ravel
89/100 +17 pts 32-64 weeks
partial transfer 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: Octaves and Rythme d'archet complexe — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Challenge
Violin Concerto in D major, op. 35
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
89/100 +17 pts 32-64 weeks
close skills 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. The skill that will carry the work: Indépendance des mains — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Challenge
Violin Concerto in D major, op. 77
Johannes Brahms
93/100 +21 pts 36-72 weeks
close skills 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. The demand here is musical rather than mechanical: Tempo rubato — 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
Violin Sonata in D minor, op. 9: I. Allegro moderato (Patetico)
Karol Szymanowski
73/100 +1 pts 5-8 weeks
new reflexes 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: Connaissance des formes and Vibrato — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Same level
Violin Sonata no. 1 in A minor, op. 105
Robert Schumann
70/100 -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: Legato d'archet and Analyse harmonique — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Same level
Violin Sonata no. 1 in G major, op. 78
Johannes Brahms
69/100 -3 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: Connaissance des formes and Legato d'archet — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
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.