Que jouer après The Lark Ascending: Romance for Violin and…

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

Introduction et Rondo capriccioso, for violin and orchestra, op. 28

Camille Saint-Saëns

71/100 +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: Technique générale — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.

Gentle

Violin Concerto in E minor, op. 64

Felix Mendelssohn

73/100 +6 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 in D minor, "Concerto accademico"

Ralph Vaughan Williams

70/100 +3 pts 7-14 weeks

close skills low risk to confirm

A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Analyse harmonique — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.

Gentle

Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra, op. 24

Josef Suk

70/100 +3 pts 7-14 weeks

close skills low risk to confirm

Gentle

Violin Concerto no. 1 in A minor, op. 20

Camille Saint-Saëns

70/100 +3 pts 7-14 weeks

close skills low risk to confirm

A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). 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.

Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced

Violin Concerto in D minor, op. 8, TrV110

Richard Strauss

78/100 +11 pts 14-28 weeks

close skills moderate risk to confirm

A real 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.

Balanced

Nocturne et Tarentelle, for violin and piano, op. 28

Karol Szymanowski

77/100 +10 pts 14-28 weeks

partial transfer moderate risk to confirm

A real step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Legato d'archet and Vibrato — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.

Balanced

Violin Concerto no. 1 in G minor, op. 26

Max Bruch

80/100 +13 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). 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.

Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge

Fantasia in C for Violin and Piano, D.934, op. posth.159, "Sei mir gegrüsst!"

Franz Schubert

84/100 +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: Vibrato and Passages rapides — what matters is a steady sustained tone: bow speed, contact point and pressure even, before any thought of speed.

Challenge

Violin Concerto in A minor, op. 53

Antonín Dvořák

83/100 +16 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: Passages rapides — 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 +22 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: Indépendance des mains — 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

Violin Sonata in A minor

Ralph Vaughan Williams

67/100 same level 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: Legato d'archet and Connaissance des formes — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.

Same level

Romance in D major, for violin and piano, op. 23

Karol Szymanowski

64/100 -3 pts 4-7 weeks

partial transfer low risk to confirm

Equivalent demands, right at the edge of Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM): different ground, same level. What changes is the skill in play: Legato d'archet and Vibrato — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.

Same level

Violin Sonata in A minor: I. Fantasia (Allegro giusto)

Ralph Vaughan Williams

64/100 -3 pts 4-7 weeks

partial transfer low risk to confirm

Equivalent demands, right at the edge of Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM): different ground, same level. 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.