Gustav Simon's Mazurka is a stylistic homage to the Polish folk-inspired dance form popularized by Chopin. It relies on subtle rhythmic displacement to achieve its characteristic lilt.
At Henle 5 this is a late-intermediate piece — technically substantial, with musical demands to match. The main demands: a waltz lilt that needs charm and a flexible left hand; rubato that must breathe naturally without losing the pulse; and chord voicing — bringing out one note inside a handful of others.
Beyond that, expect ornaments that need to sound effortless, not squeezed in.
The student must master the specific rubato and accentuation patterns required for the mazurka rhythm.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
A level or two down with the same spirit — ideal if this piece is still out of reach.
Where this piece's skills lead: slightly harder works making similar technical demands.
Concert-Mazurka (Op.28) is rated Henle level 5 of 9 — late intermediate repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 6–7. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 7.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 5 — meaning you can already play level 4–5 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 Concert-Mazurka (Op.28) lasts about 4 minutes.
Concert-Mazurka (Op.28) 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 16 Waltzes by Johannes Brahms, Waltz No. 2 by Dmitri Shostakovich, Waltz in C-sharp minor, No. 2 by Frédéric Chopin — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.