This piece is a technical showpiece featuring rapid-fire thematic material typical of a Romantic scherzo. It highlights the pianist's ability to navigate volatile, changing textures.
Focus on the stamina and wrist flexibility required for the rapid octave-runs and dramatic leaps.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
1er Scherzo (Op. 34) is rated Henle level 6 of 9 — advanced repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 7–8. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 8.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 6 — meaning you can already play level 5–6 pieces cleanly. Learning it one level early is possible as a stretch piece, but more than that usually leads to months of frustration.
A typical performance of 1er Scherzo (Op. 34) lasts about 5 minutes.
1er Scherzo (Op. 34) is available as free public-domain sheet music on IMSLP — the score is linked directly from this page.
Pieces at a comparable difficulty and character include 'Ch'io mi scordi di te?' by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Piano Sonata No. 8 'Pathétique' by Ludwig van Beethoven, Ballade by Edvard Grieg — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.