Repertoire › Cello Sonata no. 1 in E minor, op. 38 › What to play next
What to play after Cello Sonata no. 1 in E minor, op. 38 ?
Johannes Brahms · difficulty 70/100

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
Cello Sonata no. 4 in A minor, op. 116
Max Reger
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: Doigté complexe and Connaissance des formes — settle and write in both fingering and bowings at first reading: changing them later costs weeks.
Gentle
Sonata, for cello and piano no. 2 in G minor, op. 28
Max Reger
74/100 +3 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: Doigté complexe and Vibrato (violoncelle) — settle and write in both fingering and bowings at first reading: changing them later costs weeks.
Gentle
Cello Sonata in G minor, op. 65
Frédéric Chopin
77/100 +7 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 Vibrato (violoncelle) — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Sonata for Cello Solo, op. 28
Eugene Ysaÿe
82/100 +12 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: Position du pouce and Connaissance des formes — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Balanced
Cello Sonata in G minor, op. 19
Sergei Rachmaninoff
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: Doigté complexe and Connaissance des formes — settle and write in both fingering and bowings at first reading: changing them later costs weeks.
Balanced
Cello Sonata no. 2 in F major, op. 99
Johannes Brahms
82/100 +12 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: Connaissance des formes and Vibrato (violoncelle) — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Balanced
Sonata for Cello Solo, op. 28: IV. Finale con brio: Allegro tempo fermo
Eugene Ysaÿe
79/100 +8 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: Position du pouce and Connaissance des formes — 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
Suite D major BWV 1012
Eugene Ysaÿe
90/100 +20 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: 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
Sonata for Solo Cello
György Ligeti
86/100 +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: Position du pouce and Connaissance des formes — 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 +22 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 Analyse harmonique — 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
Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 2 in F Major, Op. 99
Johannes Brahms
70/100 same level 5-8 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: Tenue de l'archet (violoncelle) and Style classique — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Same level
Suite no. 1 for Solo Cello
Ernest Bloch
71/100 +1 pts 5-8 weeks
new reflexes 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: Position du pouce and Style baroque — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Same level
Ballade and serenade, for cello and piano, op. 3
Josef Suk
68/100 -3 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: Octaves and Vibrato (violoncelle) — 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.