Playing four-hands on the piano started to gain ground in the mid-18th century, at about the time when the hammer-action fortepiano appeared on the scene. Certain composers soon realized the possibilities inherent in the greater range of the new instrument. Almost all the great classical and romantic masters composed pieces for piano duet and, after them, a lot of by now forgotten minor masters tried their hand at this genre. Thus, there is a rich literature to select from and we hope that the music-loving young people of our day will find pleasure in playing piano four-hands. As playing four-hands also gives practice in sight-reading, care has been taken to keep the music lucid.