Repertoire › Theme and 5 Variations in E major, for violin and piano › What to play next
What to play after Theme and 5 Variations in E major, for violin and piano ?
Alban Berg · difficulty 68/100

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
4 Pieces, for violin and piano, op. 7
Anton Webern
73/100 +5 pts 7-14 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Style moderne et contemporain and Positions hautes — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Sonata Fantasia no. 2, for violin and piano, A.83
Heitor Villa-Lobos
73/100 +5 pts 7-14 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Legato d'archet and Connaissance des formes — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Gentle
Theme and Variations for Violin and Piano, I/10
Olivier Messiaen
73/100 +5 pts 7-14 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: 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.
Gentle
Violin Sonata no. 2, H.24
Arthur Honegger
72/100 +4 pts 7-14 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Legato d'archet and Rythme d'archet complexe — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Gentle
Sonata Fantasia no. 1, for violin and piano, A.51
Heitor Villa-Lobos
72/100 +4 pts 7-14 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Legato d'archet and Connaissance des formes — 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
Violin Sonata
William Walton
79/100 +11 pts 14-28 weeks
close skills 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 and Vibrato — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Balanced
Violin Sonata no. 1
Ernest Bloch
78/100 +10 pts 14-28 weeks
close skills 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 and Vibrato — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Balanced
Violin Sonata no. 2, "Poème mystique"
Ernest Bloch
77/100 +9 pts 14-28 weeks
close skills 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 and Vibrato — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Balanced
Violin Sonata no. 2 in D major, op. 94bis
Sergei Prokofiev
77/100 +9 pts 14-28 weeks
close skills 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 and Rythme d'archet complexe — 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
Fantasy for Violin and Piano, op. 47
Arnold Schoenberg
85/100 +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: Intonation and Style moderne et contemporain — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Challenge
Violin Concerto
Alban Berg
85/100 +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. The skill that will carry the work: Style moderne et contemporain — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Challenge
Violin Sonata no. 1 in C sharp minor, op. 21, BB84, Sz.75
Béla Bartók
83/100 +15 pts 32-64 weeks
close skills moderate 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: Legato d'archet and Rythme d'archet complexe — 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
Violin Sonata in D minor, H.3
Arthur Honegger
68/100 same level 4-7 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Legato d'archet and Rythme d'archet complexe — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Same level
Three Preludes for Violin and Piano
George Gershwin
68/100 same level 4-7 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Legato d'archet and Style moderne et contemporain — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Same level
Violin Sonata no. 1 in E
Arnold Bax
70/100 +2 pts 5-8 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Legato d'archet and Voix chantante — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
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.