Review of The Library of Piano Classics Volume 1
There are many compilations of classical music available to pianists and teachers alike. Different compilations exist to support varying needs/wants. The Library of Piano Classics Volume 1 by Amsco Publications happens to be a great compilation with music that starts out from the early-intermediate level to advanced. If you want a book that will last a while for you or your students, this one may be for you. It can act as a sort of method book for students because of its wide range of difficulty levels and representation of different time periods and genres. It is also fairly cheap.
Organization
The book is organized alphabetically by composer. A nice alternative organization would be to group pieces by difficulty, style, or genre. Examples of early-intermediate pieces from the book include four pieces from the notebook of Anna Magdalena by J.S. Bach, an arrangement of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf and an arrangement of Brahms' Hungarian Dance No. 5. The great thing about these pieces is that students love to play them. The most advanced piece in the book is Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2.
Editings
The pieces included in this compilation are all edited, meaning this is not an urtext edition. For those looking for an urtext edition, I recommend the Henle edition. For a newer student, however, the editors markings may be useful to help with interpretation. Some of the fingerings are questionable and/or hard to read. Also, sometimes the printing is a bit crammed.
Conclusion
I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a compilation of some of the more popular classical titles. There is something for all stages of learning from early-intermediate onward. The pieces are often fun and engaging.
I don't recommend this book if you want an urtext edition. There are also edited editions that would be preferable to this in some regards. Sometimes this compilation only includes a single movement of a sonata and sometimes it includes a whole sonata, so it is hit-and-miss there.