Que jouer après Adagio et Bolero, Op.21 ?

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

Allegro agitato in A minor, for cello and piano

Gioachino Rossini

62/100 +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: Spiccato (violoncelle) — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.

Gentle

Cappricio über 'Der Templer und die Jüdin', Op.100

Friedrich August Kummer

62/100 +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: Doigté complexe and Passages rapides — settle and write in both fingering and bowings at first reading: changing them later costs weeks.

Gentle

Capriccio über slavische Melodien, Op.9

Julius Goltermann

62/100 +4 pts 6-12 weeks

partial transfer low risk to confirm

Gentle

Capriccio, Op.24

Georg Goltermann

64/100 +6 pts 6-12 weeks

partial transfer low risk to confirm

Gentle

Capriccio for Cello and Piano, Op.74

Robert Volkmann

64/100 +6 pts 6-12 weeks

partial transfer low risk to confirm

Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced

Cello Sonata no. 2, op. 58

Felix Mendelssohn

69/100 +11 pts 12-24 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 (violoncelle) and Connaissance des formes — what matters is a steady sustained tone: bow speed, contact point and pressure even, before any thought of speed.

Balanced

Caprice sur des Airs espagnols, Op.16

Auguste Franchomme

70/100 +12 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: Intonation (violoncelle) — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.

Balanced

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

Johannes Brahms

70/100 +12 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: Connaissance des formes and Vibrato (violoncelle) — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.

Balanced

Caprice, Op.20

Auguste Franchomme

72/100 +14 pts 14-28 weeks

partial transfer moderate risk to confirm

A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Intonation (violoncelle) — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.

Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge

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

Ludwig van Beethoven

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

Challenge

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

Ludwig van Beethoven

73/100 +15 pts 28-56 weeks

partial transfer moderate risk to confirm

Challenge

3 Caprices, Op.24

Auguste Franchomme

73/100 +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: Intonation (violoncelle) — 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. 1 in C minor, op. 32

Camille Saint-Saëns

58/100 same level 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: 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

Ludwig van Beethoven

57/100 -1 pts 4-6 weeks

new reflexes 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: Style classique — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.

Same level

Cello Sonata no. 2 in F major, op. 123

Camille Saint-Saëns

61/100 +3 pts 4-7 weeks

partial transfer low risk to confirm

Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Vibrato (violoncelle) and Connaissance des formes — 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.