Repertoire › Nocturne No. 13 in C minor, Op. 48, No. 1 › What to play next
What to play after Nocturne No. 13 in C minor, Op. 48, No. 1 ?
Frédéric Chopin · difficulty 76/100

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
In Dominum Domini Ibimus, prelude, S.671
Franz Liszt
81/100 +5 pts 8-16 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). 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
Barcarolle in F sharp major, op. 60
Frédéric Chopin
81/100 +5 pts 8-16 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Balance mains — what matters is quality of attack and evenness of tone, not speed.
Gentle
Ballade no. 4 in F minor, op. 52
Frédéric Chopin
82/100 +6 pts 8-16 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). The skill that will carry the work: Octaves — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Les adieux, rêverie, from 'Romeo et Juliette', S.409, R.169
Franz Liszt
83/100 +7 pts 8-16 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). The skill that will carry the work: 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
Étude Op. 10, No. 3
Frédéric Chopin
86/100 +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). The skill that will carry the work: Voix chantante and Passages rapides — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
Balanced
Prélude, choral et fugue, M.21
César Franck
88/100 +12 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: Analyse harmonique and Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Balanced
Les Préludes, S.637
Franz Liszt
85/100 +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 — 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
Piano Sonata no. 29 in B flat major, op. 106, "Hammerklavier"
Ludwig van Beethoven
95/100 +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 Indépendance des mains — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Challenge
Feux d'artifice
Claude Debussy
93/100 +17 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: Doubles notes — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Challenge
Piano Sonata no. 32 in C minor, op. 111
Ludwig van Beethoven
92/100 +16 pts 36-72 weeks
partial transfer 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.
Same level

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Same level
Préludes Book I No.10 (La cathédrale engloutie)
Claude Debussy
76/100 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: Balance mains and Octaves — what matters is quality of attack and evenness of tone, not speed.
Same level
Nocturne No. 15 in F minor, Op. 55, No. 1
Frédéric Chopin
77/100 +1 pts 5-8 weeks
close skills 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: Indépendance des mains and Voix chantante — 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.