First Lessons, Opus 117: Piano Book

Name: First Lessons, Opus 117: Piano Book
Brand: Alfred Music
SKU: 00-K03498
Price: 9.95 USD
Availability: OutOfStock

By Cornelius Gurlitt

Item: 00-K03498

$9.95

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Expertly arranged Piano Lessons by Cornelius Gurlitt from the Kalmus Edition series. This is from the Romantic era.

Don't just read it, hear it, play along with it, and watch your students grow with it. In MakeMusic Cloud, First Lessons, Opus 117: Piano Book comes alive with professional accompaniment, adjustable tempo, and built-in practice tools that turn solo practice into real progress.

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Series: Kalmus Edition

Publisher: Alfred Music

Page Count: 28

ISBN10: 0-7692-7015-8

ISBN13: 978-0-7692-7015-9

UPC: 029156918014

SKU: 00-K03498

More about this title

About the Composer: Cornelius Gurlitt

Cornelius Gurlitt (1820, 1901) was a German composer and pedagogue whose gift lay in writing music that felt effortless to play while remaining genuinely musical. He understood what young pianists needed at each stage of development, crafting pieces that built technique without sacrificing character. His output includes hundreds of short character pieces and instructional works that became staples in piano studios across Europe and America.

Gurlitt's Opus 117 sits at a pivotal moment in a student's learning, when technical foundations are solid enough to support real musical expression. Rather than dry exercises, these lessons breathe with the melodic grace and harmonic sophistication of the Romantic salon. Teachers have valued his work for generations because students actually want to practice it.

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Why we love this

Gurlitt strikes the rare balance between legitimate pedagogy and genuine musical substance. These aren't sterile finger drills dressed up as pieces; they're miniature character studies that let young pianists experience Romantic-era lyricism while building vocabulary around voice leading, pedal control, and expressive playing. The 28-page arc gives you a natural curriculum within a single book.

What to expect

Intimate and unhurried. These pieces have the character of salon sketches, each one a small window into a particular mood or moment. The harmonies are richer than early pedagogical material but never complicated; melodies sing with unforced naturalness, and the overall effect is reflective and gently encouraging.

Who it's for

Early-to-intermediate pianists (roughly grades 3, 4) who have solid hand position and can read treble and bass clefs with ease. This collection works equally well as a primary lesson text or as supplementary material for students who need to build expressive control before moving to larger Romantic works.

How to get the most out of it

Listen for the singing line buried in the middle voices, not just the top melody. Many of these pieces reveal their warmth only when all voices have weight and independence.
Introduce the sustain pedal gradually as the pieces progress. Gurlitt assumes students will develop pedal technique alongside their reading skills, so the earlier pieces often work better with minimal pedal.
Shape phrases with dynamic subtlety rather than dramatic contrast. A well-timed diminuendo into a cadence will serve these pieces far better than sudden volume shifts.
Allow rubato to emerge naturally from the harmonic rhythm, not imposed from above. Let the progression breathe where it wants to breathe.

How to use it

Pair individual pieces from this collection with students' other lesson repertoire as recital material. A single Gurlitt study works beautifully as a palate cleanser between heavier classical works, or you can program several consecutively to show a student's growth across a season. The Kalmus Edition also makes this accessible for independent study.