Repertoire › Romance without opus (First Edition) › What to play next
What to play after Romance without opus (First Edition) ?
Fanny Hensel · difficulty 45/100

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
Romance op. 5,3
Clara Wieck-Schumann
49/100 +4 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
Consolation No.2 in E major
Franz Liszt
51/100 +6 pts 5-10 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that 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.
Gentle
Romance F sharp major op. 28,2
Robert Schumann
48/100 +3 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.
Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Romance Op.24 No.9
Jean Sibelius
57/100 +12 pts 10-20 weeks
partial transfer 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: Voix chantante — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
Balanced
Nocturne (version 1) c sharp minor KK IVa,16
Frédéric Chopin
57/100 +13 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: Ornements romantiques — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Balanced
Nocturne e minor op. post. 72,1
Frédéric Chopin
54/100 +9 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
Appendix: Prélude - Aria von variazioni; Earlier version HWV 434
George Frideric Handel
53/100 +9 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.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
Rêverie L.68
Claude Debussy
61/100 +16 pts 24-48 weeks
partial transfer high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Voix chantante — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
Challenge
Albumleave op. 7,1
Fanny Hensel
35/100 -10 pts 12-24 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
Next piece in the same collection, Elementary (around grade 4 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
Piano Sonata (Cantabile) G major R. deest
Johann Kuhnau
45/100 same level 3-4 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, right at the edge of Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): different ground, same level. What changes is the skill in play: Caractère et style — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Same level
Piano Sonata (Cantabile Andantino) d minor R. 359 (24)
Johann Kuhnau
46/100 +1 pts 3-4 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, right at the edge of Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): different ground, same level. What changes is the skill in play: Balance mains — what matters is quality of attack and evenness of tone, not speed.
Same level
Romanze op. 21,1
Fanny Hensel
47/100 +2 pts 3-4 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, right at the edge of Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): different ground, same level. 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.
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.