Nicolás Ruiz Espadero was a prominent Cuban composer whose piano works reflect deep Romantic influence. This ballade utilizes extensive chromaticism and expressive melodic leaps.
Focus on the execution of wide-span arpeggiated accompaniment patterns while keeping the melody singing.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
Ballade No.2 (Op.57) is rated Henle level 6 of 9 — advanced repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 7–8.
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 Ballade No.2 (Op.57) lasts about 6 minutes.
Ballade No.2 (Op.57) 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.1 by Nicolás Ruiz Espadero, Barcarolle by Xaver Scharwenka, Ballad No.1 by Issay Dobrowen — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.