Balfeber is a charming character piece that captures the lighthearted, rhythmic grace of the mid-19th-century salon style. Its main appeal lies in its elegant melodic contour and flowing rhythmic pulse.
The challenge lies in keeping the waltz rhythm light and buoyant, avoiding a heavy downbeat.
Balfeber is rated Henle level 4 of 9 — intermediate repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 5–6. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 6.
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 Balfeber lasts about 3 minutes.
Balfeber is available as free public-domain sheet music on IMSLP — the score is linked directly from this page.