An eccentric modern character piece that employs whimsical harmonic shifts and irregular rhythmic figures. It is distinctive for its programmatic, almost cartoonish quality that demands strong characterization from the performer.
At Henle 5 this is a late-intermediate piece — technically substantial, with musical demands to match. The main demands: fine finger independence within the hand; sharp dynamic and character contrasts held together in one arc; and precise articulation — the difference between crisp and blurred is the piece.
Beyond that, expect chord voicing — bringing out one note inside a handful of others.
Emphasize the varied articulations to highlight the programmatic nature of the piece.
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.
Clovis was a Monkey is rated Henle level 5 of 9 — late intermediate repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 6–7. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 8.
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 Clovis was a Monkey lasts about 4 minutes.
Clovis was a Monkey 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 March of the Trolls, No. 3 by Edvard Grieg, 12 Variations in G on 'La Bérgere Célimène' by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Bolero by César Antonovich Cui — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.