Repertoire › Scherzo Op.16 No.2 › What to play next
What to play after Scherzo Op.16 No.2 ?
Felix Mendelssohn · difficulty 76/100

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
Scherzo No.1 in B minor Op.20
Frédéric Chopin
80/100 +4 pts 8-16 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Demi-pédale and Staccato — the pedal is set by ear, note by note: misjudged, it blurs the harmony instead of joining it.
Gentle
Scherzo no. 3 in C sharp minor, op. 39
Frédéric Chopin
82/100 +6 pts 8-16 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Indépendance des mains — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Scherzo and capriccio in F sharp minor
Felix Mendelssohn
82/100 +6 pts 8-16 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). The skill that will carry the work: Staccato — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Scherzo, op. 2
Maurice Duruflé
80/100 +4 pts 8-16 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Style moderne et contemporain and Indépendance des mains — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Scherzo
Igor Stravinsky
80/100 +4 pts 8-16 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Style moderne et contemporain and Indépendance des mains — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2
Franz Liszt
87/100 +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). 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
Scherzo no. 3 in F sharp minor
Mily Balakirev
85/100 +9 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: Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
Scherzo no. 1 in B minor
Mily Balakirev
85/100 +9 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: Indépendance des mains — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
Scherzo and March, S.177
Franz Liszt
84/100 +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: Indépendance des mains — 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
Hungarian Rhapsody no. 6
Franz Liszt
93/100 +17 pts 36-72 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: Ornements romantiques and Doubles notes — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Challenge
Liszt: Cadenza on Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2, TN iii/6
Sergei Rachmaninoff
92/100 +16 pts 36-72 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: Ornements romantiques and Doubles notes — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Challenge
Hungarian Rhapsody no. 12
Franz Liszt
92/100 +16 pts 36-72 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: Ornements romantiques and Doubles notes — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Same level

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Same level
Rhapsody in G minor Op.79 No.2
Johannes Brahms
77/100 +1 pts 5-8 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. 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.
Same level
Rhapsody in B minor Op.79 No.1
Johannes Brahms
78/100 +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: Indépendance des mains — 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, still Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Connaissance des formes and Demi-pédale — 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.