A character piece by Mekaev that emphasizes a singular, mournful melodic motif throughout the work. It relies on standard late-Romantic harmonic progressions common in pedagogical literature.
At Henle 3 this is a late-beginner piece — comfortable hands-together playing is assumed, and musical shaping starts to matter. The main demands: a true singing tone, with the melody floating above the accompaniment; chord voicing — bringing out one note inside a handful of others; and rubato that must breathe naturally without losing the pulse.
The primary challenge lies in phrasing the melody expressively without over-using the sustain pedal.
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.
Einsame Träne (Op.120) is rated Henle level 3 of 9 — late beginner repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 4–5. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 3.
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 Einsame Träne (Op.120) lasts about 2.5 minutes.
Einsame Träne (Op.120) 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 Being moved into a false world by Alexander Mekaev, Autumn is Peaceful by Alexander Mekaev, Waltz in A minor by Frédéric Chopin — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.