Repertoire › 4 Polish Dances, M60 › What to play next
What to play after 4 Polish Dances, M60 ?
Karol Szymanowski · difficulty 50/100

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
Overture in F major, D.675, op. 34
Franz Schubert
55/100 +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: Contrôle du toucher — what matters is quality of attack and evenness of tone, not speed.
Gentle
2 Mazurkas, op. 62, M73
Karol Szymanowski
55/100 +5 pts 5-10 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). The demand here is musical rather than mechanical: Phrasé — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
Gentle
Prelude in C sharp minor
Karol Szymanowski
55/100 +5 pts 5-10 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). The demand here is musical rather than mechanical: Legato — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Andante favori in F major, WoO 57
Ludwig van Beethoven
56/100 +6 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: Contrôle du toucher — what matters is quality of attack and evenness of tone, not speed.
Gentle
Mazurkas, op. 68
Frédéric Chopin
54/100 +4 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: Contrôle du toucher — what matters is quality of attack and evenness of tone, not speed.
Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Sonneries de la Rose + Croix
Erik Satie
60/100 +10 pts 12-24 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Contrôle du toucher — what matters is quality of attack and evenness of tone, not speed.
Balanced
20 Mazurkas, op. 50, M56
Karol Szymanowski
60/100 +10 pts 12-24 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). The demand here is musical rather than mechanical: Phrasé — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
Balanced
Potpourri on Themes from the opera Voyevoda
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
60/100 +10 pts 12-24 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real 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.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
4 Impromptus, D.935, op. posth.142
Franz Schubert
66/100 +16 pts 24-48 weeks
close skills 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: Passages rapides — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Challenge
Prelude and Fugue in C sharp minor, M19
Karol Szymanowski
70/100 +20 pts 28-56 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: Connaissance des formes and Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Challenge
Variations on a Polish Folk Theme in B minor, op. 10, M10
Karol Szymanowski
65/100 +15 pts 24-48 weeks
partial transfer 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: Connaissance des formes and Ornements romantiques — 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
Piano Sonata no. 9 in E major, op. 14 no. 1
Ludwig van Beethoven
50/100 same level 3-4 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 — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Same level
Nocturne Op.72 No.1 (posthumous)
Frédéric Chopin
49/100 -1 pts 3-4 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Voix chantante — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
Same level
Variations on a March by Dressler, WoO 63
Ludwig van Beethoven
48/100 -2 pts 3-4 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Analyse harmonique and Style classique — 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.