Repertoire › II. Molto capriccioso › What to play next
What to play after II. Molto capriccioso ?
Béla Bartók · difficulty 72/100

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
VIII. Allegro
Béla Bartók
76/100 +5 pts 7-14 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). 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
Images Book I No.1 (Reflets dans l'eau)
Claude Debussy
76/100 +4 pts 7-14 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Doubles notes — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Etude in G-flat major Op.25 No.9 (Butterfly)
Frédéric Chopin
76/100 +4 pts 7-14 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Staccato — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
VI. Allegro moderato, molto capriccioso
Béla Bartók
78/100 +6 pts 7-14 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). 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
Jeux d'eau
Maurice Ravel
76/100 +4 pts 7-14 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). 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.
Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Gaspard de la Nuit: Ondine
Maurice Ravel
82/100 +10 pts 16-32 weeks
partial transfer 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: Trilles and Ornements romantiques — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
Sonata Op.57 (Appassionata)
Ludwig van Beethoven
81/100 +9 pts 16-32 weeks
partial transfer 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: Trilles and Connaissance des formes — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
Miroirs No.4 (Alborada del gracioso)
Maurice Ravel
81/100 +9 pts 16-32 weeks
partial transfer 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: Doubles notes and Rythmes pointés — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
Islamey Op.18
Mily Balakirev
86/100 +14 pts 16-32 weeks
partial transfer 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: Octaves and Rythmes pointés — 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
3 Studies, op. 18, BB81, Sz.72
Béla Bartók
90/100 +18 pts 32-64 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: Passages rapides and Style moderne et contemporain — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Challenge
Piano Sonata no. 2 in B flat minor, op. 36
Sergei Rachmaninoff
91/100 +19 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: Connaissance des formes and Passages rapides — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Challenge
Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2
Franz Liszt
87/100 +15 pts 32-64 weeks
new reflexes moderate 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 and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Same level

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Same level
No.148 — Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm (1)
Béla Bartók
72/100 same level 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: Mesures asymétriques and Doubles notes — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Same level
III. Lento, rubato
Béla Bartók
73/100 +1 pts 5-8 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
Next piece in the same collection, Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM): the order its editor chose, a progression already tested. 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
Étude in E major Op.10 No.3
Frédéric Chopin
69/100 -3 pts 4-7 weeks
new reflexes 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: Voix chantante and Indépendance des mains — 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.