Repertoire › Sonata for Violin and Piano no. 2, op. 43 › What to play next
What to play after Sonata for Violin and Piano no. 2, op. 43 ?
Malcolm Arnold · difficulty 66/100

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.

Back to the full work page
Gentle step

The safest next step.

Gentle
Violin Sonata no. 1 in F minor, op. 80
Sergei Prokofiev
71/100 +5 pts 7-14 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Style moderne et contemporain and Rythme d'archet complexe — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Violin Sonata in D major, op. 3
Max Reger
70/100 +4 pts 7-14 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Positions hautes and Vibrato — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Gentle
Violin Sonata no. 1 in A minor, op. 105
Robert Schumann
70/100 +4 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Changements de position and Analyse harmonique — 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 +6 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: 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, for violin and piano, no. 1 in D minor, op. 1
Max Reger
69/100 +3 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Positions hautes and Vibrato — 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 no. 3 in D minor, op. 108
Johannes Brahms
77/100 +12 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: Changements de position and Connaissance des formes — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Balanced
Violin Sonata no. 2, "Quasi una sonata"
Alfred Schnittke
78/100 +13 pts 14-28 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Vibrato and Legato d'archet — what matters is a steady sustained tone: bow speed, contact point and pressure even, before any thought of speed.
Balanced
Violin Sonata
John Corigliano
79/100 +13 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: Changements de position and Vibrato — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Balanced
Violin Sonata no. 2
Krzysztof Penderecki
79/100 +13 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: Positions hautes and Vibrato — 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
Violin Sonata no. 1 in C sharp minor, op. 21, BB84, Sz.75
Béla Bartók
83/100 +18 pts 32-64 weeks
close skills 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: 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. 2 in C major, BB85, Sz.76
Béla Bartók
83/100 +17 pts 32-64 weeks
close skills 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: Style moderne et contemporain and Staccato — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Challenge
Violin Sonata in G minor, B.g5, "The Devil's Trill"
Giuseppe Tartini
85/100 +19 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: Trilles et ornements (violon) and Style baroque — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Same level

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Same level
Fugue, for solo violin
Alfred Schnittke
65/100 -1 pts 4-7 weeks
new reflexes 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: Positions hautes and Analyse harmonique — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Same level
Valse-scherzo, for violin and orchestra in C major, op. 34
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
67/100 +1 pts 4-7 weeks
new reflexes 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: Staccato — 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 +2 pts 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: Style moderne et contemporain and Intonation — 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.