Repertoire › Variations and Fugue on an Original Theme, op. 35, "Eroica Variations" › What to play next
What to play after Variations and Fugue on an Original Theme, op. 35, "Eroica Variations" ?
Ludwig van Beethoven · difficulty 82/100

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
Piano Sonata no. 31 in A flat major, op. 110
Ludwig van Beethoven
86/100 +5 pts 8-16 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Passages rapides and Connaissance des formes — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Fugue in A minor, KKIVc/2
Frédéric Chopin
88/100 +6 pts 8-16 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Ornements romantiques and Indépendance des mains — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Gentle
Fantasia and Fugue on B-A-C-H, op. 46
Max Reger
88/100 +6 pts 8-16 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: 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.
Gentle
Prélude, choral et fugue, M.21
César Franck
88/100 +6 pts 8-16 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: 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.
Gentle
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, op. 120
Ludwig van Beethoven
88/100 +7 pts 8-16 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: Connaissance des formes — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Fantasy and Fugue on the Theme B-A-C-H, S.529
Franz Liszt
94/100 +12 pts 18-36 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Ornements romantiques and Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Balanced
Fantasy and Fugue on the chorale 'Ad nos, ad salutarem undam', S.259
Franz Liszt
95/100 +13 pts 18-36 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). The skill that will carry the work: 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
Piano Sonata no. 29 in B flat major, op. 106, "Hammerklavier"
Ludwig van Beethoven
95/100 +13 pts 18-36 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Passages rapides and Connaissance des formes — 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 +13 pts 18-36 weeks
close skills 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.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
Ab irato, S.143, "The Perfect Etude"
Franz Liszt
100/100 +18 pts 40-80 weeks
partial transfer high 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
Fantasy and Fugue on the Chorale Ad nos, ad salutarem undam, S.624, R.314
Franz Liszt
98/100 +16 pts 36-72 weeks
close skills high 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: Analyse harmonique — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Challenge
Variations on God Save the King, WoO 78
Ludwig van Beethoven
47/100 -35 pts 16-32 weeks
close skills high risk to confirm
Next piece in the same collection, Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): the order its editor chose, a progression already tested. The skill that will carry the work: 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
Piano Sonata no. 28 in A major, op. 101
Ludwig van Beethoven
83/100 +1 pts 6-9 weeks
close skills 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: Indépendance des mains and Demi-pédale — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Same level
Bach: Prelude, Gavotte, and Gigue from Partita in E for Solo Violin, TN iii/1
Sergei Rachmaninoff
83/100 +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: Style baroque and Ornements baroque — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Same level
Organ Suite no. 1 in E minor, op. 16, "Den Manen J.S. Bachs"
Max Reger
80/100 -2 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: Style baroque and Ornements baroque — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
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.