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.