Repertoire › Suite E flat major BWV 1010 › What to play next
What to play after Suite E flat major BWV 1010 ?
Eugene Ysaÿe · difficulty 58/100

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
Suite for cello and piano in E minor, op. 21
Charles-Marie Widor
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: Position du pouce and Style baroque — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Gentle
Kleine Suite (Little Suite), op. 23: V. Moderato ma con brio
Ferruccio Busoni
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: Position du pouce and Vibrato (violoncelle) — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Gentle
Suite for Cello and Piano, op. 16
Camille Saint-Saëns
64/100 +7 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: Position du pouce and Ornements baroque — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Gentle
Cello Suite no. 2 in D minor, BWV.1008
Johann Sebastian Bach
61/100 +3 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: Position du pouce and Analyse harmonique — 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
Sonata for Cello Solo, op. 28: II. Intermezzo: Poco allegretto e grazioso
Eugene Ysaÿe
71/100 +13 pts 14-28 weeks
new reflexes 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: Position du pouce and Analyse harmonique — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Balanced
Suite no. 1 for Solo Cello
Ernest Bloch
71/100 +13 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: Position du pouce and Style moderne et contemporain — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Balanced
Sonata for Cello Solo, op. 28: III. In modo di recitativo: Adagio
Eugene Ysaÿe
66/100 +8 pts 12-24 weeks
new reflexes 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: Position du pouce and Analyse harmonique — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Balanced
Cello Suite no. 4 in E flat major, BWV.1010
Johann Sebastian Bach
66/100 +8 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: Position du pouce and Connaissance des formes — 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. 4 in C major, op. 102, no. 1
Ludwig van Beethoven
73/100 +15 pts 28-56 weeks
new reflexes 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: Analyse harmonique 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: IV. Finale con brio: Allegro tempo fermo
Eugene Ysaÿe
79/100 +21 pts 28-56 weeks
new reflexes 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: Position du pouce and Analyse harmonique — 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
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: Analyse harmonique and Vibrato (violoncelle) — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Same level
Suite (Skordatur) c minor BWV 1011
Eugene Ysaÿe
61/100 +3 pts 4-7 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Next piece in the same collection, Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM): the order its editor chose, a progression already tested. What changes is the skill in play: Doigté complexe and Doubles cordes (violoncelle) — settle and write in both fingering and bowings at first reading: changing them later costs weeks.
Same level
Cello Sonata no. 2 in F major, op. 123
Camille Saint-Saëns
61/100 +3 pts 4-7 weeks
new reflexes 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 Analyse harmonique — 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.