Repertoire › Solo Cello Suite no. 3, op. 87 › What to play next
What to play after Solo Cello Suite no. 3, op. 87 ?
Benjamin Britten · difficulty 81/100

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
Sonata for Solo Cello
György Ligeti
86/100 +5 pts 8-16 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in 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 Suite no. 6 in D major, BWV.1012
Johann Sebastian Bach
85/100 +4 pts 8-16 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Lecture clé d'ut et de sol and Intonation (violoncelle) — reading the score is itself an obstacle before technique: budget time for plain reading.
Gentle
Concerto-Rhapsody for Cello and Orchestra in D minor
Aram Khachaturian
85/100 +4 pts 8-16 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in 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.
Gentle
Cello Concerto no. 2 in D major, Hob.VII:2
Franz Joseph Haydn
85/100 +4 pts 8-16 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Style classique and Connaissance des formes — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Messagesquisse, for solo cello and 6 cellos
Pierre Boulez
87/100 +6 pts 8-16 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Intonation (violoncelle) and Vibrato (violoncelle) — 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
Violoncello Sonata d minor
Claude Debussy
92/100 +11 pts 18-36 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). 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.
Balanced
Schelomo, rhapsody for cello and orchestra
Ernest Bloch
90/100 +9 pts 18-36 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in 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 +9 pts 18-36 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in 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, op. 8
Zoltán Kodály
95/100 +14 pts 18-36 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Intonation (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.

No suggestion yet.

Same level

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Same level
Solo Cello Suite no. 2, op. 80
Benjamin Britten
80/100 -1 pts 6-9 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8): what changes is the ground. 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.
Same level
Cello Sonata, op. 40
Dmitri Shostakovich
79/100 -2 pts 5-8 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, right at the edge of Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM): different ground, same level. 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
Passacaglia, for cello solo
William Walton
78/100 -3 pts 5-8 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, right at the edge of Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM): different ground, same level. What changes is the skill in play: Intonation (violoncelle) 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.