On his sister Fanny's birthday on 14 November 1828 Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy surprised her with a piano piece in E flat major entitled 'Lied'. A little later, Fanny called the work 'Lied ohne Worte' (Song Without Words). This is the first time this term was mentioned, under which ca. 50 lyrical piano pieces by Mendelssohn became popular later. In his lifetime the composer had six volumes printed, and another two collections were compiled and published posthumously. The present edition is a selection of the most popular pieces at an intermediate level of difficulty.