What level is Beethoven?

Beethoven's Pathétique Sonata as a whole work is Associate Diploma standard i.e. above grade 8 standard. It's set on the syllabus repertoire lists for the Piano Performance ATCL, DipABRSM and ARCT Associate Diplomas, making it equivalent to the standard of a first year Music undergraduate student.

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Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in C minor, Opus 13, no. 8, more commonly referred to as the Pathétique Sonata, is a much loved work in many a pianist’s repertoire. But what grade/standard is the whole work? And how about each of the movements individually?

Beethoven’s Pathétique Sonata as a whole work is Associate Diploma standard i.e. above grade 8 standard. It’s set on the syllabus repertoire lists for the Piano Performance ATCL, DipABRSM and ARCT Associate Diplomas, making it equivalent to the standard of a first year Music undergraduate student. ATCL is Trinity College London’s Associate Diploma, DipABRSM is the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music’s (ABRSM) Associate Diploma, and ARCT is the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Associate Diploma. In fact, I played Beethoven’s Pathétique Sonata as part of my programme when I did the ATCL Diploma many years ago, so it is close to my heart. A Music Performance Associate Diploma represents the standard of performance expected from a Music Performance undergraduate student at the end of their first year of study at university/conservatoire. This is considered to be above the standard required for grade 8, and often grade 8 is a prerequisite to take the Diploma exams.

So Beethoven’s Pathétique Sonata as a whole is considered to be above grade 8 level by these 3 exam boards. What about the individual movements of the Pathétique Sonata?

What Piano Grade is Beethoven’s Pathétique Sonata 1st Movement?

The first movement of the Pathétique Sonata is the most technically demanding and challenging movement out of the 3. It contains fast scalic passages, a lot of octave work in both hands, and passages where the hands are required to cross over each other quickly. In isolation, I would still consider this first movement to be above a grade 8 standard.

What Piano Grade is Beethoven’s Pathétique Sonata 2nd Movement?

The 2nd movement of the Pathétique Sonata is the least technically demanding movement out of the 3, and is commonly considered to be around a grade 6 standard. It has a much slower Adagio tempo, in contrast to the much faster 1st and 3rd movements, making it less daunting to learn.

The opening of the 2nd movement of the Pathetique Sonata

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However, the musicality required to shape the phrases of this movement well and create the beautiful melodic lines is really a post-grade 8 challenge, which is why it is entirely appropriate to have a movement that is “grade 6” standard in terms of notes set on the Associate Diploma repertoire lists. Performing all 3 movements together as a unit adds another layer of a challenge that bumps the difficulty of this sonata up to Associate Diploma level when played as a whole.

What Piano Grade is Beethoven’s Pathétique Sonata 3rd Movement?

The 3rd movement of Beethoven’s Pathétique Sonata is a grade 8 standard. It was set for ABRSM grade 8 on the 2011 – 2012 syllabus.

How Much Piano Experience Do You Need Before Learning Beethoven’s Pathétique Sonata?

Sometimes my students ask me whether they have reached a high enough standard to start learning a particular piano piece, and I always tell them that really you can start learning any piece at any level if you enjoy it enough. The less experienced you are, the longer it will take you to learn a piece, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t. Hopefully you are learning piano because you enjoy it, and if you love the Pathétique Sonata, as many do, then there’s nothing to stop you from starting to learn it wherever you are at in your piano journey. Just be prepared for it to take a bit longer to learn if you are not around grade 8 standard or above yet. You could consider starting with the 2nd movement, because, as discussed above, it’s technically the easiest movement out of the 3. Having a few piano lessons to work on a specific goal is a great way to speed up your learning of a piece and get help with any problems you might be having. With a lot of teachers you don’t have to commit to a whole string of lessons, and can just view it as a short-term troubleshooting solution instead. If you’re in the UK, you can use my link to Tutorful to get a free £25 credit off your piano lessons here when you create an account. You can use it for in-person or online lessons.

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When I was younger I remember watching a TV show called “First Love” where the comedian Sue Perkins, (who had played the piano when she was a kid but had given up and hadn’t played piano for 25 years!) spent 4 months going from scratch to ending up performing the 2nd movement of Beethoven’s Pathétique Sonata to an audience live at Cheltenham Music Festival. Anything is possible with practice!

Which is Harder, Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata or Pathétique Sonata?

Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata and Pathétique Sonata are a similar level of difficulty. They are both set on the Associate Diploma syllabuses. However I would say that Moonlight Sonata is very slightly more difficult than the Pathétique Sonata. These 2 sonatas have a lot in common in terms of difficulty level. The first movement of Moonlight Sonata and the 2nd movement of Pathétique Sonata are both about grade 6 level in terms of the difficulty of the notes, and they both involve the right hand little finger playing a lot of the melody. The 3rd movement of Moonlight Sonata is a roughly similar level of difficulty to the first movement of the Pathétique Sonata. Comparing the 3rd movement of the Pathétique Sonata to the 3rd movement of Moonlight Sonata, the Moonlight Sonata last movement is very slightly more difficult.

To read more about the standard of Moonlight Sonata, check out this article: What Piano Grade is Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata 1st Movement?

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