I’ve been compiling and editing editions for the Schott student study series for a while and we have already published three volumes: click here to find out more. All my contributions to this series focus on highlighting music by female composers. I try to mix it up and combine the piano works of more well-known figures such as American composer Amy Beach with those who are far less familiar, namely the Spanish composer Narcisa Freixas. The books have been well-received so far earning nominations as finalists for both the 2024 and 2025 Art of Piano Education Awards.

This week the fourth book in this series was released spotlighting the music of French composer Mélanie Bonis (pictured above) and a second book featuring Bonis’ music is due to be published in May. I’m an ardent fan of her late-Romantic style which harbours an unusual approach to piano writing and it’s this factor that initially drew me to her music.

This volume contains the charming series for children Album pour les tout-petits Op. 103 or Music for Little Ones. Consisting of twenty short pieces, the collection was completed and published in 1913 and would be suitable for elementary level students or those between Grade 1 – 3 of the UK examination board syllabus standards.

In many respects Bonis had a tragic life. She was self-taught until the age of 12 and whilst she had the good fortune to study composition, piano and organ with César Franck at the Paris Conservatoire, winning several prizes for her work, she was forced to leave the institute by her parents who were disturbed by her relationship with charismatic singer and poet Amédée Hettich, an ‘Bohemian’ artist. A hastily arranged marriage to a wealthy businessman, 25 years her senior and who apparently disliked music, quickly ensued and it was many years before Bonis continued her journey and quest to become a composer.

Initially she wrote under the pseudonym of Mel-Bonis in order to conceal her gender. Later in life she met with Amédée Hettich again, they continued their affair, had a child and, after encouraging her to resume her work as a composer, he introduced her to publisher Alphonse Leduc. Without this introduction, it’s doubtful whether we would be able to enjoy many of her 300 or so works.

Each Schott Student Edition contains a fairly detailed biography of the composer as well as what I hope are useful ‘teaching’ or practice notes for every piece, and the text appears in both the English and German language. Each work has been fully annotated as one might expect from such an edition: pedalling, metronome marks and fingering has been added and will hopefully act as a useful guide.

Programmatic music forms the core of Bonis’ style here – and in her music generally. The works have imaginative titles, each one telling a story through the inspired piano textures that she chose to employ. A few of my favourites: ‘Compliment to Grandma’, ‘Meow! Purr!’, ‘The Flea’, ‘The Typewriter’, and ‘Raindrops’. All the pieces are fun to play, allowing a student’s imagination to take flight.  

Bonis’ music often inhabits the treble clef for the entirety of a piece and she favours repeated note patterns split between hands: it’s worth noting that the texture rarely stretches students to an octave, making the pieces perfect for the smaller hand. The occasional inclusion of more complex key-signatures (for this level) is an inspired touch and every work teaches something different both technically and musically which, in my opinion, is the hallmark of good educational piano writing.

I do hope teachers and their pupils will explore these pieces which act as a wonderful ‘entry-point’ into Mélanie Bonis’ style.

You can hear each piece by clicking on the links below: this series has been introduced and recorded by pianist and performance coach Erica Sipes and pianist Sandra Mogensen who run the Piano Music She Wrote project.

You can purchase the score from all good online music stores including musicroom.com, prestomusic.com, and Amazon. Alternatively, click on the link below to purchase from Schott Music’s website: