Repertoire › Lied for Cello and Orchestra, op. 19 › What to play next
What to play after Lied for Cello and Orchestra, op. 19 ?
Vincent d'Indy · difficulty 40/100

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
Kol Nidrei: Adagio on Hebrew Melodies, for cello and orchestra, op. 47
Max Bruch
45/100 +5 pts 4-8 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Intermediate (around grade 5 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
Waltz, for cello and piano, op. 48
Reinhold Glière
45/100 +5 pts 4-8 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Rythmes pointés and Détaché (violoncelle) — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Gentle
Gavotte, for cello and piano in G minor
Camille Saint-Saëns
46/100 +6 pts 4-8 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Style baroque and Ornements baroque — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Allegretto, for cello and piano
Edvard Grieg
43/100 +3 pts 4-8 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Vibrato (violoncelle) — what matters is a steady sustained tone: bow speed, contact point and pressure even, before any thought of speed.
Gentle
L'Agave su lo scoglio
Tiziano Bedetti
43/100 +3 pts 4-8 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Changements de position (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
Adagio on Celtic Themes, for cello and orchestra, op. 56
Max Bruch
50/100 +10 pts 10-20 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). The demand here is musical rather than mechanical: Tempo rubato — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Balanced
Chant du ménéstral, for cello and orchestra in F sharp minor, op. 71, "Minstrel's Song"
Alexander Glazunov
50/100 +10 pts 10-20 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). The demand here is musical rather than mechanical: Nuances — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
Balanced
Melodie on a Theme by S. Rachmaninov, for cello and piano in D major, TN ii/33
Sergei Rachmaninoff
52/100 +12 pts 10-20 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Mémorisation — memorise in sections and on harmonic landmarks, never by restarting from the top.
Balanced
Lied in F minor, for cello and piano
Sergei Rachmaninoff
49/100 +9 pts 8-16 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Voix chantante — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
Cello Sonata no. 1 in C minor, op. 32
Camille Saint-Saëns
58/100 +18 pts 20-40 weeks
partial transfer high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes and Vibrato (violoncelle) — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Challenge
Cello Sonata no. 1, op. 45
Felix Mendelssohn
60/100 +20 pts 20-40 weeks
partial transfer high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Vibrato (violoncelle) and Connaissance des formes — what matters is a steady sustained tone: bow speed, contact point and pressure even, before any thought of speed.
Challenge
Cello Sonata no. 2 in F major, op. 123
Camille Saint-Saëns
61/100 +21 pts 24-48 weeks
partial transfer high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Vibrato (violoncelle) and Connaissance des formes — what matters is a steady sustained tone: bow speed, contact point and pressure even, before any thought of speed.
Same level

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Same level
Intermezzo for Cello and Piano in A minor, EG115
Edvard Grieg
41/100 +1 pts 3-4 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Voix chantante and Vibrato (violoncelle) — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
Same level
Romance, for cello and piano, op. 69
Gabriel Fauré
42/100 +2 pts 3-4 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Vibrato (violoncelle) and Legato d'archet (violoncelle) — what matters is a steady sustained tone: bow speed, contact point and pressure even, before any thought of speed.
Same level
Chants du soir, 6 serenades for cello and piano
Jacques Offenbach
38/100 -2 pts 2-3 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Voix chantante and Vibrato (violoncelle) — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
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.