A delicate study in undulating motion meant to depict water. It features an impressionistic use of harmonies and fluid, sweeping passage work.
Achieve a fluid, wave-like motion through careful use of the sustain pedal and smooth arm weight.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
Breaking waves is rated Henle level 2 of 9 — beginner repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 2–3. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 4.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 2 — meaning you can already play level 1–2 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 waves lasts about 3 minutes.
Breaking waves 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 By the Lake by Gordon Balch Nevin, Cathedral Chimes by Arnold, Beautiful Evening Star by Eduard Holst — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.