Que jouer après 'tis like the distance ?

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

...et l'Angelus sonna..., Op.34

Charles Lagourgue

70/100 +5 pts 7-14 weeks

close skills low risk to confirm

A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Style impressionniste — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.

Gentle

Cello Sonata no. 1 in E minor, op. 38

Johannes Brahms

70/100 +5 pts 7-14 weeks

partial transfer low risk to confirm

A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes and Vibrato (violoncelle) — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.

Gentle

Grave, for cello and piano

Witold Lutoslawski

69/100 +4 pts 6-12 weeks

partial transfer low risk to confirm

A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Vibrato (violoncelle) and Passages rapides — what matters is a steady sustained tone: bow speed, contact point and pressure even, before any thought of speed.

Gentle

7 Arabesques, H.201/201a

Bohuslav Martinů

68/100 +3 pts 6-12 weeks

partial transfer low risk to confirm

A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Passages rapides and Style moderne et contemporain — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.

Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced

Cello Sonata in C major, op. 65

Benjamin Britten

77/100 +12 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: Connaissance des formes and Style moderne et contemporain — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.

Balanced

Cello Sonata, op. 40

Eugene Ysaÿe

75/100 +10 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: Legato d'archet (violoncelle) and Analyse harmonique — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.

Balanced

Cello Sonata no. 3 in A major, op. 69

Ludwig van Beethoven

73/100 +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: Connaissance des formes and Vibrato (violoncelle) — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.

Balanced

Cello Sonata no. 4 in C major, op. 102, no. 1

Ludwig van Beethoven

73/100 +8 pts 14-28 weeks

partial transfer moderate risk to confirm

Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge

Cello Sonata no. 2 in F major, op. 99

Johannes Brahms

82/100 +17 pts 32-64 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 Vibrato (violoncelle) — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.

Challenge

Sonata for Cello Solo, op. 28

Eugene Ysaÿe

82/100 +17 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: Position du pouce and Connaissance des formes — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.

Challenge

Suites G major, d minor, a minor op. 131c

Max Reger

84/100 +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: Polyphonie à deux voix and Style baroque — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.

Same level

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Same level

Cello Sonata no. 2 in G minor, op. 117

Gabriel Fauré

64/100 -1 pts 4-7 weeks

new reflexes low risk to confirm

Equivalent demands, right at the edge of Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM): different ground, same level. What changes is the skill in play: Connaissance des formes and Vibrato (violoncelle) — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.

Same level

Cello Sonata no. 1 in D minor, op. 109

Gabriel Fauré

64/100 -1 pts 4-7 weeks

partial transfer low risk to confirm

Same level

Elegy for Cello and Piano in D flat major, op. 17, "Une pensée à Liszt"

Alexander Glazunov

63/100 -2 pts 4-7 weeks

partial transfer low risk to confirm

Equivalent demands, right at the edge of Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM): different ground, same level. What changes is the skill in play: Vibrato (violoncelle) and Legato d'archet (violoncelle) — what matters is a steady sustained tone: bow speed, contact point and pressure even, before any thought of speed.

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.