Repertoire › Fantasia and Fugue in C minor, BWV.537 › What to play next
What to play after Fantasia and Fugue in C minor, BWV.537 ?
Johann Sebastian Bach · difficulty 78/100

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
Toccata, Fuga in D minor
Alessandro Scarlatti
84/100 +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: Staccato and Analyse harmonique — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue
Johann Sebastian Bach
82/100 +4 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: Lecture avec altérations accidentelles and Doigté complexe — reading the score is itself an obstacle before technique: budget time for plain reading.
Gentle
Toccata, Fuga, Allegro in D
Alessandro Scarlatti
82/100 +4 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: Staccato and Analyse harmonique — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Partita No. 1 in B minor, BWV 1002
Johann Sebastian Bach
82/100 +4 pts 8-16 weeks
partial transfer 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: Polyphonie à deux voix and Doigté complexe — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Passacaglia in D minor, BuxWV161
Dietrich Buxtehude
85/100 +7 pts 8-16 weeks
partial transfer 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: Demi-pédale and Style baroque — the pedal is set by ear, note by note: misjudged, it blurs the harmony instead of joining it.
Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Toccata and Fugue in C
Johann Pachelbel
89/100 +11 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: Staccato and Analyse harmonique — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
Toccata, Largo, Allegro, Fuga in A minor
Alessandro Scarlatti
87/100 +9 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: Staccato and Analyse harmonique — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV.582
Johann Sebastian Bach
86/100 +8 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: Trilles and Analyse harmonique — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
Fantasy and Fugue on the chorale 'Ad nos, ad salutarem undam', S.259
Franz Liszt
95/100 +17 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. The skill that will carry the work: 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.
Challenge
Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV.565
Ferruccio Busoni
95/100 +17 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: Staccato and Analyse harmonique — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Challenge
Fantasy and Fugue on the Theme B-A-C-H, S.529
Franz Liszt
94/100 +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: Ornements romantiques — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Same level

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Same level
Partita no. 6 in E minor, BWV.830
Johann Sebastian Bach
80/100 +2 pts 6-9 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, right at the edge of Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8): different ground, same level. What changes is the skill in play: Connaissance des formes and Balance mains — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Same level
Chaconne with 2 sets of keys in F major, HWV.485
George Frideric Handel
76/100 -2 pts 5-8 weeks
partial transfer 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: Polyphonie à deux voix and Style baroque — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Same level
Partita no. 2 in C minor, BWV.826
Johann Sebastian Bach
76/100 -2 pts 5-8 weeks
partial transfer 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: Connaissance des formes and Style baroque — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
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.