El Perseguido is a character piece by the Argentine composer Ernesto Drangosch, exhibiting a distinct blend of late Romantic harmonic language and rhythmic vitality. It demands high-level finger precision and controlled phrasing throughout.
At Henle 5 this is a late-intermediate piece — technically substantial, with musical demands to match. The main demands: fine finger independence within the hand; precise articulation — the difference between crisp and blurred is the piece; and continuous sixteenth-note figuration that must ripple, not chatter.
Beyond that, expect rubato that must breathe naturally without losing the pulse.
Manage the constant motion of the sixteenth-note patterns while maintaining a clear, distinct harmonic voice.
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 Perseguido is rated Henle level 5 of 9 — late intermediate repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 6–7. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 8.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 5 — meaning you can already play level 4–5 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 Perseguido lasts about 3 minutes.
El Perseguido 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 Passacaglia by George Frideric Handel, Fantasy in D minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Canon by Sergei Rachmaninoff — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.