Repertoire › Suite C major BWV 1009 › What to play next
What to play after Suite C major BWV 1009 ?
Eugene Ysaÿe · difficulty 47/100

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
Cello Sonata in E flat major, G.11
Luigi Boccherini
52/100 +5 pts 5-10 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Vibrato (violoncelle) and Analyse harmonique — what matters is a steady sustained tone: bow speed, contact point and pressure even, before any thought of speed.
Gentle
Suite pour violoncelle et piano, op. 16 : II. Sérénade
Camille Saint-Saëns
53/100 +6 pts 5-10 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Position du pouce and Voix chantante — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Gentle
Cello Suite no. 1 in G major, BWV.1007
Johann Sebastian Bach
51/100 +4 pts 5-10 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). 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.
Gentle
Suite pour violoncelle et piano, op. 16 : IV. Romance
Camille Saint-Saëns
54/100 +7 pts 5-10 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Position du pouce and Voix chantante — 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
Suite E flat major BWV 1010
Eugene Ysaÿe
58/100 +10 pts 10-20 weeks
close skills moderate risk fair confidence
Next piece in the same collection, Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM): the order its editor chose, a progression already tested. The skill that will carry the work: Style baroque and Polyphonie à deux voix — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Balanced
Kleine Suite (Little Suite), op. 23: IV. Sostenuto ed espressivo
Ferruccio Busoni
60/100 +12 pts 10-20 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Position du pouce and Vibrato (violoncelle) — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Balanced
Suite (Skordatur) c minor BWV 1011
Eugene Ysaÿe
61/100 +13 pts 12-24 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Doigté complexe and Doubles cordes (violoncelle) — settle and write in both fingering and bowings at first reading: changing them later costs weeks.
Balanced
Cello Suite no. 2 in D minor, BWV.1008
Johann Sebastian Bach
61/100 +14 pts 12-24 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Position du pouce and Analyse harmonique — 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
Sonata for Cello Solo, op. 28: III. In modo di recitativo: Adagio
Eugene Ysaÿe
66/100 +19 pts 24-48 weeks
new reflexes high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Position du pouce and Analyse harmonique — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Challenge
Cello Sonata no. 2 in G minor, op. 117
Gabriel Fauré
64/100 +17 pts 24-48 weeks
new reflexes high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap while staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Analyse harmonique and Vibrato (violoncelle) — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Challenge
Cello Sonata no. 1 in D minor, op. 109
Gabriel Fauré
64/100 +17 pts 24-48 weeks
new reflexes high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap while staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Vibrato (violoncelle) — 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
Suite d minor BWV 1008
Eugene Ysaÿe
47/100 same level 3-4 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. The skill that will carry the work: Style baroque and Polyphonie à deux voix — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Same level
Variations concertantes, for cello and piano, op. 17
Felix Mendelssohn
48/100 same level 3-4 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Analyse harmonique and Vibrato (violoncelle) — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Same level
Gavotte, for cello and piano in G minor
Camille Saint-Saëns
46/100 -1 pts 3-4 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Rythmes pointés and Détaché (violoncelle) — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
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.