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Have you taught or played any piano music by Clara Schumann that would be appropriate for intermediate students? My daughter would like to play some music by her, but she's only recently finished with a beginning method series, and the few pieces of C. Schumann's for which I've seen a score are too far out of her reach at this point.

Perhaps tell your daughter more about Clara but also mention that her husband's music was much better than her's. Clara edited Robert's music and was a great proponent of his music. Her concertizing is what sets her apart, not her compositions. Also, she had a very supportive oldest daughter who traveled with her and helped her prepare for concerts. All of these contributions are also wonderful. You could mention how much gusto her daughter Eugenie had in travelling to England and teaching piano there.

This is about the easiest I've heard, and it isn't easy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYdxYpRMlRE

Or she could have a look at Clara's (very straightforward) transcriptions of her husband's songs, one or two of which might be within her reach (though not the most famous one, Widmung, even though shorn of Liszt's pyrotechnical stuff):

http://hz.imslp.info/files/imglnks/...Nos1-2-3-7-24-transcr-Clara-Schumann.pdf


If she wants to play easier music by female composers, I suggest looking at Louise Farrenc's piano music:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofL4hTaPWcw

Thanks, Candywoman. These are great tips.

My daughter recently played Robert's "The Poet Speaks," from Kinderscenen, and it was her favorite of the three competition pieces she studied. Great music, and she'll be doing more from that collection, as well as from Album for the Young.

I'll share with her what you wrote above. It will be right up her alley, as she's begun work (at 11 years of age) on a historical fiction novel set during the time Robert and Clara lived. I think they make an appearance in her book. This will be good to add to whatever research material she's already found.

Thanks for the links, Bennevis. I'll give those a listen later on today.

I'd suggest having your daughter dress up, curl her hair in ringlets around her face and pretend that she IS Clara Schumann playing her husband's pieces.

My son is early intermediate...

He's never played Clara Schumann but he has played the following by Robert Schumann:

* Wild Horseman
*First Sorrow

If she doesn't like ringlets, she could pretend to be Katherine Hepburn pretending to be Clara Schumann.

The Farrenc piece is lovely, and sounds fairly accessible. I'll have to look into more music by her. My daughter certainly would be interested in playing music by other women composers besides Clara Schumann. She's especially interested in that historical period, but there weren't as many women composers then as in the 20th and 21st centuries.

THIS! Yes -- completely her.

I love teaching those pieces, and I'm sure my daughter would enjoy playing them. Especially since my Album for the Young copy is semi-falling apart. She loves to play out of my old, old books that I studied from as a child. She doesn't want her own new books. The well-worn (and -loved) look is just her thing!

LOL!

Just be careful if any of the neighborhood boys start coming around dressed as Brahms...

Oh my...

Try Fanny Mendelssohn (sister of Felix) and Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre (baroque harpsichord composer).

Also Cecile Chaminade. Her works can be difficult, but I think some are intermediate.

Thanks for these suggestions, Sweelinck. I'd not heard of Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre before. I'll look into her music!

I believe the first three of her suites, in Dm, Gm, and Am are the most accessible for an intermediate player. I think the 4th in F major may be a bit more difficult, but I’m not sure. These were composed for amateur players to play for family and friends. Here is some info regarding Suite #3 in Am:

https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Jacquet-De-La-Guerres-Suite-No-3-F3K3TDEJ8MRS