This canon by Alexei Stanchinsky reflects the composer's characteristic blend of Russian Romanticism and rigorous polyphonic structure. It is distinguished by its dense harmonic language and highly concentrated contrapuntal focus.
Maintain strict rhythmic precision while balancing the imitation between the two voices.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
Canon is rated Henle level 4 of 9 — intermediate repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 5–6. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 6.
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 lasts about 2 minutes.
Canon 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 'Werde munter, mein Gemüte' by Johann Sebastian Bach, Bourrée h-Moll by Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, 1. Ricercar Primo (con due Soghetti) by Ascanio Mayone — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.