Felix Arndt was a master of novelty piano who bridge the gap between salon music and early jazz styles. This piece exhibits refined harmonies and flowing, salon-style arpeggiated figures.
At Henle 5 this is a late-intermediate piece — technically substantial, with musical demands to match. The main demands: sweeping arpeggio figures that must stay smooth across positions; chord voicing — bringing out one note inside a handful of others; and careful pedaling — clarity depends on the foot as much as the fingers.
Beyond that, expect a true singing tone, with the melody floating above the accompaniment.
Balance the chordal voicing to ensure the melodic interest remains in the top voice.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
A level or two down with the same spirit — ideal if this piece is still out of reach.
Where this piece's skills lead: slightly harder works making similar technical demands.
Lesser-known works by the same hand, at a comparable level.
Clover Club is rated Henle level 5 of 9 — late intermediate repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 6–7. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 6.
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 Clover Club lasts about 4 minutes.
Clover Club 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 16 Waltzes by Johannes Brahms, Waltz No. 2 by Dmitri Shostakovich, Waltz in C-sharp minor, No. 2 by Frédéric Chopin — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.