This contemporary work utilizes the theme-and-variations form to explore dramatic character changes. It is marked by virtuosic shifts in dynamic intensity and register.
The primary challenge is executing the rapid shifts in mood and technical requirements between each variation.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
Boris Variations is rated Henle level 6 of 9 — advanced repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 7–8. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 9.
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 Boris Variations lasts about 6 minutes.
Boris Variations 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 Variations sérieuses by Felix Mendelssohn, Ballade by César Franck, Ballade by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.