This piece combines a lyrical cantabile section with a virtuosic, motoric toccata movement. It showcases Kessler's ability to blend late-Classical clarity with the emerging technical demands of the early Romantic era.
Maintaining clarity and evenness in the rapid sixteenth-note patterns of the toccata requires consistent finger articulation.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
Cantilène et toccata (Op.43) is rated Henle level 6 of 9 — advanced repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 7–8. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 8.
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 Cantilène et toccata (Op.43) lasts about 6 minutes.
Cantilène et toccata (Op.43) 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 Fantaisie-Impromptu in C-sharp minor by Frédéric Chopin, Rondo capriccioso in E major by Felix Mendelssohn, Rondo a capriccio in G major by Ludwig van Beethoven — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.