Repertoire › Kinderszenen op. 15 : Kuriose Geschichte › What to play next
What to play after Kinderszenen op. 15 : Kuriose Geschichte ?
Robert Schumann · difficulty 41/100

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
6. Andante (concert version)
Béla Bartók
46/100 +5 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: Style romantique — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
7. Andante
Béla Bartók
46/100 +5 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: Style romantique — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Kriegslied Op.68 No.31
Robert Schumann
45/100 +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). 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.
Gentle
Weinlesezeit Op.68 No.33
Robert Schumann
45/100 +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: Style romantique — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Der Zwerg
Franz Schubert
45/100 +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). 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 step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Kleine Fuge Op.68 No.40
Robert Schumann
50/100 +9 pts 8-16 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: Style romantique — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Balanced
Haschemann Op.68 No.36
Robert Schumann
49/100 +9 pts 8-16 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). The demand here is musical rather than mechanical: Style romantique — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
Nocturne in B-flat minor Op.9 No.1
Frédéric Chopin
59/100 +18 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: Octaves and Voix chantante — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Challenge
Blumenstück, op. 19
Robert Schumann
56/100 +15 pts 20-40 weeks
partial transfer moderate 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: Tempo rubato — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Challenge
Arabeske Op.18
Robert Schumann
56/100 +15 pts 20-40 weeks
partial transfer moderate 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 — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Same level

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Same level
Sonata in C major K.545
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
41/100 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: Style classique and Gammes et arpèges — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Same level
Kinderszenen Op.15 No.7 (Träumerei)
Robert Schumann
42/100 +1 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: Balance mains and Voix chantante — what matters is quality of attack and evenness of tone, not speed.
Same level
Papillons Op.2 No.1
Robert Schumann
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: Passages rapides and Connaissance des formes — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
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.