This etude is a pedagogical work by contemporary composer Shuwen Zhang designed for early-intermediate students. It utilizes a G minor harmonic palette to explore character-driven technical patterns.
At Henle 3 this is a late-beginner piece — comfortable hands-together playing is assumed, and musical shaping starts to matter. The main demands: fine finger independence within the hand; precise articulation — the difference between crisp and blurred is the piece; and fast passage work that stays light and even at tempo.
Focus on maintaining a crisp articulation while balancing the rapid melodic figures in the right hand.
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.
Etude No.22 in G minor-''Russian Dance'' 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 Etude No.22 in G minor-''Russian Dance'' lasts about 2 minutes.
Etude No.22 in G minor-''Russian Dance'' 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 Etude No.7 in A major by Shuwen Zhang, Albumleaf No.5: Outdoor Fun by Shuwen Zhang, Albumleaf No.6: Unexpected Despair by Shuwen Zhang — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.