What was the title of my piano book?

I was playing music from it in the early 1960s. It may have been fairly old then.

It was about 9" x 12" and probably had 180 to 200 pages. The cover was black and ochre, or maybe it was just yellowed with age.

The pieces were from the light classical repertoire and either were fairly easy or had fairly easy arrangements. I'd had several years of piano lessons and was able to play them with some effort and practice. It would probably be classified as intermediate.

Pieces I remember or think I remember in it include "Für Elise," "Song of India," "Barcarolle," and the waltz from "The Merry Widow."

I'd like to find a copy but have no idea how to search for it without a title.

Thanks for any help.

Ooh, I hope someone identifies this. I'd love to have the Merry Widow waltz! Although for all I know, maybe it's already in one of my own childhood piano books!

Oh, and the cover showed a grand piano with the lid up, and the name of the compiler might have been John something.

I don't think this book was designed for students, in the sense that there was no instructional content and the pieces were not arranged in an ascending order of difficulty, but it might well have been used selectively by a piano teacher. I don't think this one was, though. I think it was just something that might have been around because we had a piano and my mother liked the music.

(ETA) Almost forgot: it also definitely had Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" and Wagner's "To the Evening Star."

John Brimhall, perhaps? There's a newer edition that has most of the works: Masterpieces Made Easy for Piano Solo.

>4 hnau: That isn't it, but what a wonderful collection! It includes some of my great favorites from opera. If the sample is representative, I can probably play them now, even after years without practice. I think I'm going to have to order that. Thank you!

I'll also keep looking, though.