A contemporary exploration of chromaticism designed to evoke the spirit of earlier fantasy forms. It relies heavily on traditional keyboard patterns reimagined for the modern ear.
At Henle 6 this is an advanced piece that assumes fluent technique and rewards mature interpretation. The main demands: ornaments that need to sound effortless, not squeezed in; precise articulation — the difference between crisp and blurred is the piece; and fine finger independence within the hand.
Beyond that, expect independent voices that must each sing on their own line.
Success in this piece requires diligent finger-independence to navigate the constant flux of accidentals.
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.
Fantasia Cromatica No.2 is rated Henle level 6 of 9 — advanced repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 7–8. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 8.
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 Fantasia Cromatica No.2 lasts about 5 minutes.
Fantasia Cromatica No.2 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 Fantasia Cromatica No.1 by Andrea Rutigliano, Christe dalla Messa Cunctipotens by Girolamo Cavazzoni, 12 Variations über die Folie d'Espagne, Wq.118/9 (H.263) by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.