Compared to Chopin, I’ve played very little of Schumann’s music, only the Träumerei, which I studied not long after I reclaimed my passion for the piano and enrolled in adult piano lessons.

I was enchanted when my piano teacher played the No. 30 from Schumann’s Album for the Young, at my lesson in the fall of 2013. Although the Album is a staple of piano lessons, the No. 30 is one of the lesser-known, more difficult pieces at the back of the book. The music is a cousin to the Träumerei for its ability to create and sustain a contemplative mood.

Today, the No. 30 has become one of my favorite pieces in my repertoire. On September 27, I will perform the music along with Chopin’s Nocturne in E-flat Major and the Schubert Andante from his A-flat Sonata, in concert at a New York Public Library branch. The concert, entitled “Our Inner Ears: Classical Music Performed by Musicians with Hearing Loss,” will be hosted by the Association of Adult Musicians with Hearing Loss and will serve as a prequel to the Walk4Hearing in Riverside Park on September 28.

I am also honored to share with you that my article, “How to Cast a Spell with Schumann’s No. 30 from Album for the Young,” appears on Frances Wilson’s blog, The Cross-Eyed Pianist. I give specific advice on how to play the No. 30 from Album for the Young, both how to interpret the music and to handle some of its technical challenges. Frances Wilson, who also returned to piano lessons as an adult and who is similarly smitten with studying the piano, is a kindred spirit. I hope you will enjoy my article and her excellent blog in general.