Repertoire › VII. Sostenuto, rubato › What to play next
What to play after VII. Sostenuto, rubato ?
Béla Bartók · difficulty 71/100

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
Next piece in the same collection, Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM): the order its editor chose, a progression already tested. 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
Dodecaphonic Tango
Isaac Albéniz
77/100 +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
8 Improvisations on Hungarian Peasant Songs, op. 20, BB83, Sz.74
Béla Bartók
75/100 +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: Style moderne et contemporain and Demi-pédale — 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
Ballade no. 4 in F minor, op. 52
Frédéric Chopin
82/100 +11 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 — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
Piano Sonata no. 28 in A major, op. 101
Ludwig van Beethoven
83/100 +11 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: Connaissance des formes and Indépendance des mains — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Balanced
Variations on a Theme by Handel Op.24
Johannes Brahms
84/100 +13 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: Connaissance des formes and Demi-pédale — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Balanced
Ballade No.3 in A-flat major Op.47
Frédéric Chopin
79/100 +8 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: Passages rapides and Demi-pédale — 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 +19 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: Gammes et arpèges and Style moderne et contemporain — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Challenge
Variations on a Theme by Paganini, op. 35
Johannes Brahms
87/100 +16 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: Connaissance des formes and Voix chantante — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Challenge
Goldberg Variations, BWV.988
Johann Sebastian Bach
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: Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus and Connaissance des formes — 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
Ballade No.1 in G minor Op.23
Frédéric Chopin
71/100 -1 pts 5-8 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: Connaissance des formes and Octaves — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Same level
Ostinato
Béla Bartók
70/100 -2 pts 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: Rythme général — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Same level
Free Variations
Béla Bartók
69/100 -2 pts 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: Analyse harmonique 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.