Amor de palhaço is a sentimental Brazilian salon waltz by the early 20th-century composer Marcelo Tupinambá. It is distinct for its characteristic Luso-Brazilian lyrical melody infused with the popular rhythmic sensibilities of the era.
The primary challenge is maintaining a consistent dance-like waltz pulse while shaping the expressive melodic lines in the right hand.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
Amor de palhaço is rated Henle level 3 of 9 — late beginner repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 4–5. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 4.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 3 — meaning you can already play level 2–3 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 Amor de palhaço lasts about 3 minutes.
Amor de palhaço 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 Bambuhy by Marcelo Tupinambá, Caterêtê by Marcelo Tupinambá, Arrastando a aza by Marcelo Tupinambá — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.