Originally part of a film score, this waltz has become a staple of the concert repertoire for its bittersweet, cabaret-inspired melody. It stands out for its ironic playfulness blended with a distinctively Slavic sense of longing.
Balancing the left-hand waltz accompaniment to ensure it remains light and subservient to the lyrical melody is essential.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
Waltz No. 2 is rated Henle level 5 of 9 — late intermediate repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 6–7. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 7.
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 Waltz No. 2 lasts about 4 minutes.
Waltz 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 Caramel mou by Darius Milhaud, Beija-flor by Ernesto Nazareth, Beija-flor, IEN 4 by Ernesto Nazareth — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.