Repertoire › Romance for Cello and Piano, RTviii/5 › What to play next
What to play after Romance for Cello and Piano, RTviii/5 ?
Frederick Delius · difficulty 58/100

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
Allegro in F minor, for cello and piano
George Enescu
63/100 +5 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Changements de position (violoncelle) and Vibrato (violoncelle) — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Gentle
Elegy for Cello and Piano in D flat major, op. 17, "Une pensée à Liszt"
Alexander Glazunov
63/100 +5 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: 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.
Gentle
Cello Sonata no. 1 in D minor, op. 109
Gabriel Fauré
64/100 +6 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes and Changements de position (violoncelle) — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Gentle
Chanson D'Automne, for cello and piano
Frederick Delius
62/100 +4 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Voix chantante and Vibrato (violoncelle) — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
Gentle
Cello Sonata in F major, op. 39
Karl Goldmark
64/100 +6 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes and Intonation (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
Ballade and serenade, for cello and piano, op. 3
Josef Suk
68/100 +10 pts 12-24 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Octaves and Connaissance des formes — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Balanced
Cello Sonata, RTviii/7
Frederick Delius
71/100 +13 pts 14-28 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes and Changements de position (violoncelle) — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Balanced
Cello Sonata in D
Frederick Delius
71/100 +13 pts 14-28 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes and Changements de position (violoncelle) — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Balanced
Nocturne et Saltarello, for cello and piano
George Enescu
66/100 +8 pts 12-24 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Passages rapides and Voix chantante — 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
Cello Sonata no. 3 in A major, op. 69
Ludwig van Beethoven
73/100 +15 pts 28-56 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes and Style classique — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Challenge
Cello Sonata no. 4 in C major, op. 102, no. 1
Ludwig van Beethoven
73/100 +15 pts 28-56 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes and Style classique — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Challenge
Nocturne and Scherzo for Cello and Piano, L.26
Claude Debussy
80/100 +22 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: Staccato and Ornements romantiques — 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
Cello Sonata no. 1 in C minor, op. 32
Camille Saint-Saëns
58/100 same level 4-6 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Connaissance des formes and Passages rapides — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Same level
Sérénade in B minor, for cello and piano, op. 98
Gabriel Fauré
59/100 +1 pts 4-6 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. The skill that will carry the work: 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
Nocturne for Cello and Orchestra
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
60/100 +2 pts 4-7 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. The skill that will carry the work: Voix chantante — 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.