A festive piece composed for a commemorative occasion, showing Figueroa Morales's penchant for direct, rhythmic piano writing. It relies on clear, declamatory statements.
At Henle 3 this is a late-beginner piece — comfortable hands-together playing is assumed, and musical shaping starts to matter. The main demands: precise articulation — the difference between crisp and blurred is the piece; fast passage work that stays light and even at tempo; and fine finger independence within the hand.
Ensure crisp, precise rhythmic articulation throughout the march sections.
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.
El centenario is rated Henle level 3 of 9 — late beginner repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 4–5. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 4.
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 El centenario lasts about 3 minutes.
El centenario 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 El idilio by Ramón Figueroa Morales, Eloísa by Ramón Figueroa Morales, Alexander's Ragtime Band by Irving Berlin — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.