David Stanley Smith was an American academic composer whose piano works often explored formal ingenuity within a post-Romantic harmonic framework. This Ballad stands out for its bold, chordal climaxes and moody, introspective opening sections.
Precision in voicing thick chordal passages without allowing the tone to become harsh or clunky is necessary.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
Ballad (Op.36 No.3) is rated Henle level 6 of 9 — advanced repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 7–8. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 9.
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 Ballad (Op.36 No.3) lasts about 7 minutes.
Ballad (Op.36 No.3) 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 Ballade by Walter Niemann, Biographie einer unruhigen Stunde by Dieter Salbert, Biographie einer unruhigen Stunde by Dieter Salbert — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.