This is a quintessential late-Romantic character piece by Anton Rubinstein that captures the undulating motion of a gondola. It is distinguished by its lush, sweeping arpeggiated accompaniment and a long-breathed, singing melody.
The primary challenge is maintaining a consistent, liquid rhythmic pulse while balancing the melody against complex, rolling left-hand textures.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
Barcarole No.3; Op.50 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 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 Barcarole No.3; Op.50 No.3 lasts about 6 minutes.
Barcarole No.3; Op.50 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 Ballad by Anton Rubinstein, Allegro Appassionato by Anton Rubinstein, Nocturne in B major, No. 1 by Frédéric Chopin — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.