Repertoire › Ballade, for violin and orchestra, op. 4a › What to play next
What to play after Ballade, for violin and orchestra, op. 4a ?
George Enescu · difficulty 60/100

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
Poem no. 2, for violin and orchestra, op. 13, "Au Rouet"
Eugene Ysaÿe
65/100 +5 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 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.
Gentle
Les Neiges d'antan, for violin and orchestra, op. 23
Eugene Ysaÿe
65/100 +5 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 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.
Gentle
2 Impromptus, Pastorale and Scherzo for violin and piano, op. 8
Edouard Lalo
64/100 +4 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: Staccato and Vibrato — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Gentle
Valse-scherzo, for violin and orchestra in C major, op. 34
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
67/100 +7 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Staccato — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Gentle
Légende, for violin and orchestra in E flat major, RTvii/3
Frederick Delius
67/100 +7 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 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 step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Polonaise in B flat major for Violin and Orchestra, D.580
Franz Schubert
70/100 +10 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: Rythmes pointés and Passages rapides — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Balanced
Poème élégiaque, for violin and orchestra in D minor, op. 12
Eugene Ysaÿe
70/100 +10 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). The skill that will carry the work: Passages rapides — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Balanced
Violin Sonata no. 1 in D major, op. 2
George Enescu
69/100 +9 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: Connaissance des formes and Vibrato — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Balanced
Violin Sonata no. 2 in F minor, op. 6
George Enescu
73/100 +13 pts 14-28 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes and Vibrato — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
Rhapsody for Violin and Piano no. 1, BB94a, Sz.86
Béla Bartók
80/100 +20 pts 28-56 weeks
partial transfer high 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: Style moderne et contemporain and Vibrato — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Challenge
Violin Sonata in A minor
George Enescu
75/100 +15 pts 28-56 weeks
partial transfer 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 Vibrato — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Challenge
Impressions d'enfance, for violin and piano in D major, op. 28
George Enescu
82/100 +22 pts 32-64 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: Vibrato and Legato d'archet — 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
Tarantella, for violin and piano
George Enescu
60/100 same level 4-7 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: Vibrato and Staccato — what matters is a steady sustained tone: bow speed, contact point and pressure even, before any thought of speed.
Same level
Violin Sonata no. 2 in G major, op. 13
Edvard Grieg
58/100 -2 pts 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: Legato d'archet and Connaissance des formes — practise it slowly, separating left hand from bow: bow alone on open strings, then the fingering silently.
Same level
Impromptu concertant, for violin and piano in G flat major
George Enescu
63/100 +3 pts 4-7 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Vibrato and Positions hautes — what matters is a steady sustained tone: bow speed, contact point and pressure even, before any thought of speed.
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.