Repertoire › Cello Suite no. 5 in C minor, BWV.1011 › What to play next
What to play after Cello Suite no. 5 in C minor, BWV.1011 ?
Johann Sebastian Bach · difficulty 74/100

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
Passacaglia, for cello solo
William Walton
78/100 +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: Style moderne et contemporain and Position du pouce — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Suite for Cello
Krzysztof Penderecki
77/100 +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: Doubles notes and Style baroque — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Gentle
Solo Cello Suite no. 2, op. 80
Benjamin Britten
80/100 +6 pts 8-16 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Style moderne et contemporain and Vibrato (violoncelle) — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Suite no. 3 for Solo Cello
Ernest Bloch
77/100 +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: Style moderne et contemporain and Vibrato (violoncelle) — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Sonata-Fantasy in C major, for cello solo
Aram Khachaturian
77/100 +3 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: Legato d'archet (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
Cello Suite no. 6 in D major, BWV.1012
Johann Sebastian Bach
85/100 +11 pts 16-32 weeks
close skills moderate risk fair confidence
A real step up: this piece moves you into Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8). New compared with the previous piece: Lecture clé d'ut et de sol and Endurance — reading the score is itself an obstacle before technique: budget time for plain reading.
Balanced
Sonata for Solo Cello
György Ligeti
86/100 +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: Legato d'archet (violoncelle) and Vibrato (violoncelle) — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Balanced
Violoncello totale, for solo cello
Krzysztof Penderecki
82/100 +8 pts 16-32 weeks
partial transfer 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: Tenue de l'archet (violoncelle) — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Balanced
Sonata for Cello Solo, op. 28
Eugene Ysaÿe
82/100 +8 pts 16-32 weeks
partial transfer 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: Legato d'archet (violoncelle) and Vibrato (violoncelle) — 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
Violoncello Sonata d minor
Claude Debussy
92/100 +18 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 Analyse harmonique — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Challenge
Cello Concerto in B minor, op. 104
Antonín Dvořák
92/100 +19 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: Endurance and Vibrato (violoncelle) — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Challenge
Suite D major BWV 1012
Eugene Ysaÿe
90/100 +16 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 Style baroque — 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
Solo Cello Suite no. 1, op. 72
Benjamin Britten
76/100 +3 pts 5-8 weeks
close skills 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: Style moderne et contemporain and Vibrato (violoncelle) — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
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.