A mood piece often associated with light jazz-influenced classical writing. The writing is known for its shifting tonal centers and evocative, sparse textures.
Focus on the balance between the inner voices and the primary melody to create a sense of mystery.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
Breaking the ice is rated Henle level 3 of 9 — late beginner repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 4–5. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 5.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 3 — meaning you can already play level 2–3 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 Breaking the ice lasts about 3 minutes.
Breaking the ice 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 Gymnopédie No. 1 by Erik Satie, Gymnopédie No. 3 by Erik Satie, Gnossienne No. 1 by Erik Satie — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.