Sergei Lyapunov's Op. 2 is an early, highly expressive work heavily influenced by Russian Romanticism and Lisztian piano textures. It features a brooding, narrative quality that explores dark tonal colors.
The player must master the management of large, dense chordal textures while sustaining a long-breathed narrative arc.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
Ballade (Op.2) 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 Ballade (Op.2) lasts about 7 minutes.
Ballade (Op.2) 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 Sergei Lyapunov, Barcarolle by Sergei Lyapunov, Prelude in C-sharp minor, No. 2 by Sergei Rachmaninoff — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.