This work by Arthur Benjamin is a substantial, virtuosic piece that demands technical brilliance and dramatic depth. It is distinctive for its intense rhythmic drive and angular, modernistic melodic contours.
The performer must navigate rapid shifts in intensity while maintaining precise control over the massive keyboard layout.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
Ballade 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 10.
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 Ballade lasts about 8 minutes.
Ballade 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 No.2 by Franz Liszt, Bach- Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (Transcription) by Louis Brassin, Piano Sonata No. 23 'Appassionata' by Ludwig van Beethoven — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.