Repertoire › Suite no. 3 for Solo Cello › What to play next
What to play after Suite no. 3 for Solo Cello ?
Ernest Bloch · difficulty 77/100

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
Violoncello totale, for solo cello
Krzysztof Penderecki
82/100 +5 pts 8-16 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Tenue de l'archet (violoncelle) — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Gentle
Cello Concerto no. 1 in E flat major, op. 107
Dmitri Shostakovich
82/100 +5 pts 8-16 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Indépendance des mains and Style moderne et contemporain — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Gentle
Sonata for Cello Solo, op. 28
Eugene Ysaÿe
82/100 +5 pts 8-16 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that 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.
Gentle
Cello Sonata, op. 49: III. Presto mormoroso
Alberto Ginastera
81/100 +4 pts 8-16 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that 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.
Gentle
Solo Cello Suite no. 3, op. 87
Benjamin Britten
81/100 +4 pts 8-16 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). The skill that will carry the work: Style baroque and Ornements baroque — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Messagesquisse, for solo cello and 6 cellos
Pierre Boulez
87/100 +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). The skill that will carry the work: Intonation (violoncelle) and Vibrato (violoncelle) — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Balanced
Schelomo, rhapsody for cello and orchestra
Ernest Bloch
90/100 +13 pts 18-36 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: Octaves and Style moderne et contemporain — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Balanced
Suite D major BWV 1012
Eugene Ysaÿe
90/100 +13 pts 18-36 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: 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.
Balanced
Sonata for Solo Cello
György Ligeti
86/100 +9 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.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
Sonata for Solo Cello, op. 8
Zoltán Kodály
95/100 +18 pts 36-72 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: Legato d'archet (violoncelle) and Analyse harmonique — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Challenge
Cello Concerto in B minor, op. 104
Antonín Dvořák
92/100 +15 pts 36-72 weeks
partial transfer 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: Endurance and Jeu d'ensemble — 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
Suite no. 2 for Solo Cello
Ernest Bloch
77/100 -1 pts 5-8 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. The skill that will carry the work: Intonation (violoncelle) and Style baroque — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Same level
Passacaglia, for cello solo
William Walton
78/100 +1 pts 5-8 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. The skill that will carry the work: 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.
Same level
Rhapsody for Cello and Piano, BB94c, Sz.88
Béla Bartók
75/100 -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: Octaves and Style moderne et contemporain — 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.