A largely forgotten parlor-style Ballade by Hector Roderick MacLean. It captures the sentimental aesthetic common in British piano music of the Victorian era.
Students must focus on balancing the melodic voicing against the accompanying arpeggiated figures.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
Ballade in E-flat major is rated Henle level 5 of 9 — late intermediate repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 6–7. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 7.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 5 — meaning you can already play level 4–5 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 in E-flat major lasts about 5 minutes.
Ballade in E-flat major 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 16 Waltzes by Johannes Brahms, Belle of the Ball by Leroy Anderson, American Beauty by Joseph Francis Lamb — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.