A picturesque character piece by Gustav Lange that depicts an autumn wind through agitated sixteenth-note passages. It is a fine example of late-Romantic programmatic piano writing for intermediate players.
At Henle 3 this is a late-beginner piece — comfortable hands-together playing is assumed, and musical shaping starts to matter. The main demands: continuous sixteenth-note figuration that must ripple, not chatter; precise articulation — the difference between crisp and blurred is the piece; and fine finger independence within the hand.
Balance the agitato sixteenth-note textures so they do not overpower the underlying thematic material.
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.
Lesser-known works by the same hand, at a comparable level.
Der Herbstwind rüttelt die Bäume (Op.170) is rated Henle level 3 of 9 — late beginner repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 4–5. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 5.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 3 — meaning you can already play level 2–3 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 Der Herbstwind rüttelt die Bäume (Op.170) lasts about 3 minutes.
Der Herbstwind rüttelt die Bäume (Op.170) 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 Blumenklage by Gustav Lange, Albumblatt by Gustav Lange, Deingedenken by Gustav Lange — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.