A virtuosic scherzo that draws heavily on 19th-century demonic tropes. Its musical identity is built upon sudden, jagged accents and rapid scalar runs.
At Henle 6 this is an advanced piece that assumes fluent technique and rewards mature interpretation. The main demands: fast passage work that stays light and even at tempo; a left hand with real melodic or rhythmic responsibility of its own; and sharp dynamic and character contrasts held together in one arc.
The technical difficulty involves managing the heavy accents against a light, flowing left-hand accompaniment.
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.
Diabolical Scherzo (Op. 7) 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 Diabolical Scherzo (Op. 7) lasts about 4 minutes.
Diabolical Scherzo (Op. 7) 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 Der Galgenritt by Paul Hindemith, Danse Diabolique by Joseph Hellmesberger Jr., Die Dämonen by Johann Strauss Sr. — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.