This scherzo is a masterpiece of Romantic drama, shifting between whisper-quiet tension and explosive fortissimo outbursts. Its structure is highly innovative, blending rapid, breathless figures with a lyrical, sweeping second theme.
Achieving the correct character contrast between the demonic opening and the song-like central section is the ultimate interpretive challenge.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
Scherzo No. 2 in B-flat minor (Op. 31) is rated Henle level 8 of 9 — concert repertoire, roughly diploma level. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 10.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 8 — meaning you can already play level 7–8 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 Scherzo No. 2 in B-flat minor (Op. 31) lasts about 10 minutes.
Scherzo No. 2 in B-flat minor (Op. 31) 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 Ballade No.2 by Frédéric Chopin, Ballade No.1 by Frédéric Chopin, Ballade No.4 by Frédéric Chopin — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.