Repertoire › Études-Tableaux, Op. 39, No. 5 › What to play next
What to play after Études-Tableaux, Op. 39, No. 5 ?
Rachmaninoff · difficulty 85/100

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
Étude Op. 10, No. 5
Frédéric Chopin
90/100 +5 pts 9-18 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). The skill that will carry the work: 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
Concert Paraphrase of 'Rigoletto', S.434, R.267
Franz Liszt
96/100 +11 pts 18-36 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). The skill that will carry the work: Passages rapides — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV.565
Ferruccio Busoni
95/100 +10 pts 18-36 weeks
new reflexes moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Staccato and Analyse harmonique — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
Variations and Toccata on 'Aurora lucis rutilat', op. 52
Alberto Ginastera
95/100 +10 pts 18-36 weeks
new reflexes moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Staccato and Connaissance des formes — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
Mephisto Waltz no. 4, S.216a, R.60c, "Bagatelle sans tonalité"
Franz Liszt
93/100 +8 pts 18-36 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Trilles 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
Ab irato, S.143, "The Perfect Etude"
Franz Liszt
100/100 +15 pts 40-80 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
An ambitious leap while staying in 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 Demi-pédale — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Challenge
Sonata in G major, K.471, L.82
Domenico Scarlatti
100/100 +15 pts 40-80 weeks
new reflexes moderate risk to confirm
An ambitious leap while staying in 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 Style baroque — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Challenge
A.r.
Iannis Xenakis
100/100 +15 pts 40-80 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
An ambitious leap while staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. The skill that will carry the work: Technique générale — 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
Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C major, BWV.564
Johann Sebastian Bach
86/100 +1 pts 6-9 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Staccato and Analyse harmonique — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Same level
Toccata, op. 11
Sergei Prokofiev
86/100 +1 pts 6-9 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Staccato and Style moderne et contemporain — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Same level
Toccata
Claude Debussy
87/100 +2 pts 6-9 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Ornements romantiques and Passages rapides — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
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.