Repertoire › Piano Sonata C major Wq 53,1 › What to play next
What to play after Piano Sonata C major Wq 53,1 ?
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach · difficulty 40/100

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.

Back to the full work page
Gentle step

The safest next step.

Gentle
Rondo no. 3 in F
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
46/100 +6 pts 4-8 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Style classique and Connaissance des formes — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Piano Sonata (First Edition) e minor Wq 65,30
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
45/100 +4 pts 4-8 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Trilles — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Piano Sonata G major K. 283 (189h)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
44/100 +4 pts 4-8 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes and Indépendance des mains — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Gentle
No. 5 "Fragen" from "Petit Album" op. 134,5
Niels Wilhelm Gade
47/100 +6 pts 4-8 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Intermediate (around grade 5 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
Piano Sonata A major Hob. XVI:12
Franz Joseph Haydn
44/100 +3 pts 4-8 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Balance mains — what matters is quality of attack and evenness of tone, not speed.
Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Piano Sonata d minor Wq 65,23
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
51/100 +11 pts 10-20 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Demi-pédale — the pedal is set by ear, note by note: misjudged, it blurs the harmony instead of joining it.
Balanced
Piano Sonata A major Hob. XVI:5
Franz Joseph Haydn
52/100 +11 pts 10-20 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Balance mains — what matters is quality of attack and evenness of tone, not speed.
Balanced
Piano Sonata b minor Wq 62,22
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
50/100 +10 pts 10-20 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into 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
Piano Sonata E flat major Hob. XVI:16
Franz Joseph Haydn
53/100 +12 pts 10-20 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Balance mains — what matters is quality of attack and evenness of tone, not speed.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
Sonata in F major K.332 (I)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
59/100 +19 pts 20-40 weeks
partial transfer high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes and Indépendance des mains — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Challenge
Piano Sonata C major Wq 62,10
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
57/100 +16 pts 20-40 weeks
close skills high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. 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.
Challenge
Piano Sonata a minor Wq 53,3
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
48/100 +8 pts 16-32 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
Next piece in the same collection, Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): the order its editor chose, a progression already tested. 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.
Same level

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Same level
Abschied vom Silbermannschen Clavier in einem Rondeau Wq 66
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
40/100 same level 3-4 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Polyphonie à deux voix — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Same level
La Pott, minuet in C major, Wq.117, no. 18
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
40/100 same level 3-4 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Style classique and Connaissance des formes — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Same level
Sonatina in G major Op.79
Ludwig van Beethoven
43/100 +2 pts 3-4 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Style classique and Connaissance des formes — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
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.