A sophisticated work by Haydn that showcases his mastery of refined, singing melodic lines. It is distinguished by its graceful turns and balanced classical phrase structure.
At Henle 6 this is an advanced piece that assumes fluent technique and rewards mature interpretation. The main demands: a true singing tone, with the melody floating above the accompaniment; ornaments that need to sound effortless, not squeezed in; and chord voicing — bringing out one note inside a handful of others.
Beyond that, expect a left hand with real melodic or rhythmic responsibility of its own.
Achieving a seamless legato melody against the subtle accompaniment is the key difficulty.
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.
Divertimento in A-flat major is rated Henle level 6 of 9 — advanced repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 7–8. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 7.
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 Divertimento in A-flat major lasts about 7 minutes.
Divertimento in A-flat major 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 Keyboard Sonata in E-flat major by Joseph Haydn, Black Beauty by Duke Ellington, Andante favori by Ludwig van Beethoven — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.