Repertoire › Suite no. 1 for Solo Cello › What to play next
What to play after Suite no. 1 for Solo Cello ?
Ernest Bloch · difficulty 71/100

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
Solo Cello Suite no. 1, op. 72
Benjamin Britten
76/100 +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: Passages rapides and Style baroque — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Gentle
Cello Suite no. 1, op. 72: 6. Moto perpetuo e canto quarto. Presto
Benjamin Britten
76/100 +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: Passages rapides and Style baroque — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Gentle
Suite no. 2 for Solo Cello
Ernest Bloch
77/100 +6 pts 7-14 weeks
close skills low risk fair confidence
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Passages rapides and Style baroque — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Gentle
Suite no. 3 for Solo Cello
Ernest Bloch
77/100 +6 pts 7-14 weeks
close skills low risk fair confidence
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Passages rapides and Style baroque — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Gentle
Suite for Cello
Krzysztof Penderecki
77/100 +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: Doubles notes and Style baroque — 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
Cello Sonata, op. 49: III. Presto mormoroso
Alberto Ginastera
81/100 +10 pts 16-32 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Legato d'archet (violoncelle) and Analyse harmonique — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Balanced
Solo Cello Suite no. 3, op. 87
Benjamin Britten
81/100 +10 pts 16-32 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Passages rapides and Style baroque — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Balanced
Solo Cello Suite no. 2, op. 80
Benjamin Britten
80/100 +9 pts 16-32 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Passages rapides and Style baroque — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Balanced
Cello Suite no. 6 in D major, BWV.1012
Johann Sebastian Bach
85/100 +14 pts 16-32 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Lecture clé d'ut et de sol and Endurance — reading the score is itself an obstacle before technique: budget time for plain reading.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
Schelomo, rhapsody for cello and orchestra
Ernest Bloch
90/100 +19 pts 36-72 weeks
new reflexes 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: Octaves and Style moderne et contemporain — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Challenge
Suite D major BWV 1012
Eugene Ysaÿe
90/100 +19 pts 36-72 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: Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus and Style baroque — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Challenge
Violoncello Sonata d minor
Claude Debussy
92/100 +21 pts 36-72 weeks
new reflexes 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: Analyse harmonique and Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Same level

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Same level
Cello Sonata in E flat major
Arnold Bax
72/100 +1 pts 5-8 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Analyse harmonique and Legato d'archet (violoncelle) — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Same level
Legend-Sonata, for cello and piano in F sharp minor
Arnold Bax
73/100 +2 pts 5-8 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Analyse harmonique and Legato d'archet (violoncelle) — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Same level
Cello Sonata, FP143
Francis Poulenc
68/100 -3 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: Analyse harmonique and Legato d'archet (violoncelle) — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
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.