A virtuosic contemporary waltz that utilizes bold harmonic inflections and rhythmic drive. It is distinguished by its blend of traditional waltz form with more modern, percussive piano writing.
Ensure the rhythmic vitality of the waltz rhythm is maintained even during the more virtuosic passages.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
Birthday Waltz (Op.65) 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 Birthday Waltz (Op.65) lasts about 4 minutes.
Birthday Waltz (Op.65) 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 100. Yıl Marşı by Hakan Ali Toker, Bin's Bounce by Hakan Ali Toker, Berkay's Boogie by Hakan Ali Toker — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.