Gurlitt Cornelius - The Beginner Op. 211 - Piano

Cornelius Gurlitt is one of the co-founders of 19th-century piano teaching. Going on from the method of Carl Czerny, his rich educational material is extremely topical even today. Der Anfänger is a collection of little pieces for four hands with an easy primo and a somewhat more difficult secondo part which are ideal for music lessons at elementary and intermediate levels or as duos for pupil and teacher. In the primo part, the hands for the most part play in unison - due to an inventive harmonic accompaniment, however, the little pieces become musically interesting exercises. The level of difficulty increases with regard to rhythm, articulation, time and key as well as dynamics and possibilities of musical interpretation. Thus, this colourful collection of highly different settings - from the solemn adagio via fast movements, little marches, chorales and dance forms to the virtuoso tarantella - is a valuable addition to the music teaching literature. / Piano 4 Mains

26 pieces in all major and minor keys (pentatonic melody)-The popularity of Cornelius Gurlitt's (1820-1901) varied and abundant piano œuvre certainly inspired by his work as a music teacher is undiminished until today and still of great educational significance in music lessons. The musical language of his four-handed piano miniatures is very similar to that of the compositions by Carl Reinecke and Theodor Kirchner. 'Hours of rest' was published for the first time by Schott in 1880 and shall now be made accessible again for music lessons with this new edition. The miniatures have a simple yet effective structure are arranged in an educationally sensible way and have an expressive tonal language containing cantabile folk-song-like dance-like expressive and chorale-like elements. Everything that makes beginner's lessons sensible and systematic is dealt with in these 26 varied miniatures; in particular the pupils are made familiar with all major and minor modes. As in Diabelli's famous 'Melodious Exercises' the primo part is played within the pentatonic scale thus being perfect for beginners. The demands for the secondo player are somewhat higher. A valuable addition to the piano duet repertoire.