Repertoire › Two Portraits, for violin and orchestra, op. 5, BB48b, Sz.37 › What to play next
What to play after Two Portraits, for violin and orchestra, op. 5, BB48b, Sz.37 ?
Béla Bartók · difficulty 60/100

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
Violin Concerto no. 1 in D major, op. 19
Sergei Prokofiev
65/100 +5 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Indépendance des mains and Style moderne et contemporain — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Gentle
Concierto de Estío, for violin and orchestra
Joaquín Rodrigo
65/100 +5 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Style moderne et contemporain — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Variations, for violin with piano
Carlos Chávez
64/100 +4 pts 6-12 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). 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.
Gentle
Violin Sonata "no. 0", H. 3: III. Sostenuto - Allegro
Arthur Honegger
64/100 +4 pts 6-12 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Vibrato and Legato d'archet — what matters is a steady sustained tone: bow speed, contact point and pressure even, before any thought of speed.
Gentle
Violin Concerto no. 2, H.293
Bohuslav Martinů
67/100 +7 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Style moderne et contemporain and Analyse harmonique — 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
Violin Sonata no. 1 in F minor, op. 80
Sergei Prokofiev
71/100 +11 pts 14-28 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Vibrato and Legato d'archet — what matters is a steady sustained tone: bow speed, contact point and pressure even, before any thought of speed.
Balanced
Violin Concerto no. 1, BB48a, Sz.36
Béla Bartók
70/100 +10 pts 14-28 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Staccato and Ornements romantiques — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Balanced
Violin Concerto in C major, op. 48
Dmitry Kabalevsky
70/100 +10 pts 14-28 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Style moderne et contemporain — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Balanced
Violin Concerto no. 2 in C sharp minor, op. 129
Dmitri Shostakovich
74/100 +14 pts 14-28 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Style moderne et contemporain — 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
Rhapsody for Violin and Piano no. 1, BB94a, Sz.86
Béla Bartók
80/100 +20 pts 28-56 weeks
partial transfer high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Octaves and Vibrato — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Challenge
Violin Sonata in E minor, BB28
Béla Bartók
76/100 +16 pts 28-56 weeks
partial transfer high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Legato d'archet and Connaissance des formes — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Challenge
Violin Sonata no. 2
Charles Ives
75/100 +15 pts 28-56 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Vibrato and Legato d'archet — what matters is a steady sustained tone: bow speed, contact point and pressure even, before any thought of speed.
Same level

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Same level
Abodah: a Yom Kippur melody, for violin and piano
Ernest Bloch
60/100 same level 4-7 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Voix chantante and Vibrato — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
Same level
Molly on the Shore, folk song for violin and piano
Percy Grainger
60/100 same level 4-7 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Voix chantante and Passages rapides — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
Same level
2 Pieces for Violin and Piano
Aaron Copland
58/100 -2 pts 4-6 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Coups d'archet composés and Style moderne et contemporain — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
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.