Written for a collaborative album, this waltz exemplifies Poulenc’s early witty and slightly irreverent style. It balances sophisticated, jarring harmonic shifts with a classically nostalgic rhythmic foundation.
The technical difficulty lies in executing the sudden dynamic changes and subtle, ironic rubato.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
'Valse' for Album des Six is rated Henle level 4 of 9 — intermediate repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 5–6. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 6.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 4 — meaning you can already play level 3–4 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 'Valse' for Album des Six lasts about 2 minutes.
'Valse' for Album des Six 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 Bourrée, au Pavillon d’Auvergne, FP 87 by Francis Poulenc, Caledonian Market by Poldowski, Bacchus by Victor Alphonse Duvernoy — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.