Part of the collection of canons found in the Goldberg Variations manuscript, this work demonstrates Bach's mastery of the form. It features dense, intricate polyphony within a very short duration.
Maintain strict control of the contrapuntal voices throughout the imitation.
Canon in D major (BWV 1072) is rated Henle level 4 of 9 — intermediate repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 5–6. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 7.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 4 — meaning you can already play level 3–4 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 Canon in D major (BWV 1072) lasts about 2 minutes.
Canon in D major (BWV 1072) is available as free public-domain sheet music on IMSLP — the score is linked directly from this page.