Repertoire › Ballades, op. 10 › What to play next
What to play after Ballades, op. 10 ?
Johannes Brahms · 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
Variations on a Theme by Schumann, op. 9
Johannes Brahms
73/100 +5 pts 7-14 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Gentle
Polonaises, op. 71
Frédéric Chopin
72/100 +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: Ornements romantiques and Passages rapides — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Gentle
Ballade, for piano, op. 9
César Franck
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: Octaves — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Klavierstücke, op. 119
Johannes Brahms
74/100 +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: Indépendance des mains — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Polonaise in B flat minor, B.13, "Adieu à Guillaume Kolberg"
Frédéric Chopin
74/100 +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: Rythmes pointés and Octaves — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Ballade no. 2 in B minor, S.171, R.16
Franz Liszt
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: Octaves — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
Rhapsodies, Op. 79
Johannes Brahms
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: Octaves — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
Ballade in the Form of Variations on an Norwegian Melody in G minor, op. 24
Edvard Grieg
80/100 +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: Octaves and Connaissance des formes — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
Scherzo in E flat minor, op. 4
Johannes Brahms
77/100 +9 pts 14-28 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Staccato — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
Ballade no. 1, S.170, "Le Chant du Croise"
Franz Liszt
85/100 +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: Octaves — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Challenge
Polonaise no. 6 in A flat major, op. 53, "Heroic"
Frédéric Chopin
84/100 +16 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: Rythmes pointés and Octaves — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Challenge
Rhapsodies, op. 79
Johannes Brahms
64/100 -4 pts 24-48 weeks
close skills 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. New compared with the previous piece: Contrôle du toucher — what matters is quality of attack and evenness of tone, not speed.
Same level

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Same level
Grande Polonaise in E flat major, J.59, op. 21
Carl Maria von Weber
67/100 -1 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: Rythmes pointés and Octaves — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Same level
Polonaise in C major, op. 89
Ludwig van Beethoven
67/100 -1 pts 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: Rythmes pointés and Octaves — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Same level
Polonaise in G sharp minor, B.6
Frédéric Chopin
67/100 -1 pts 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: Rythmes pointés and Octaves — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
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.