Evan Alva Tonsing’s work is a brief, evocative ballad characterized by its gentle harmonic progressions. It relies heavily on sensitive pedaling to bridge its lyrical, flowing phrases.
The primary focus is on developing a soft, warm touch and precise control of the decay of sound.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
Ballad for Stephen 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 Ballad for Stephen lasts about 3 minutes.
Ballad for Stephen 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 Solace by Scott Joplin, Benedizione nuziale by Giovanni Sgambati, Benedizione nuziale by Giovanni Sgambati — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.