A character piece requiring rhythmic dexterity and balanced finger work. It stands out for its interplay between syncopated rhythms and steady underlying pulses.
The primary challenge is maintaining clarity during the quick, rhythmic shifts in the middle voices.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
Balanceakt (Op.23 No.7) is rated Henle level 4 of 9 — intermediate repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 5–6. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 5.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 4 — meaning you can already play level 3–4 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 Balanceakt (Op.23 No.7) lasts about 2 minutes.
Balanceakt (Op.23 No.7) 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 Bin traurig by Jan Willem Menkveld, Beherrschung by Jan Willem Menkveld, Beherrschung by Jan Willem Menkveld — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.