This piece continues Dobrowen's interest in dense, virtuosic textures paired with deep emotional intensity. It is distinguished by its jagged thematic development and wide-ranging dynamics.
Technical proficiency in executing rapid, wide-spanning broken chords is a prerequisite for this piece.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
Ballad No.2 (Op.9) is rated Henle level 7 of 9 — late advanced repertoire, roughly ABRSM grade 8 and above. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 9.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 7 — meaning you can already play level 6–7 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 No.2 (Op.9) lasts about 7 minutes.
Ballad No.2 (Op.9) 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 Ballad No.1 by Issay Dobrowen, Ballade No.2 by Frédéric Chopin, Ballade No.2 by Franz Liszt — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.