A lighthearted salon piece by Albertin, emblematic of the popular music styles found in early 20th-century Southern Italian collections. It is notable for its crisp, rhythmic clarity and accessible harmonic language.
Focus on maintaining even, non-legato articulation in the right hand against a steady left-hand accompaniment.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
'A maestrina is rated Henle level 2 of 9 — beginner repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 2–3. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 2.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 2 — meaning you can already play level 1–2 pieces cleanly. Learning it one level early is possible as a stretch piece, but more than that usually leads to months of frustration.
A typical performance of 'A maestrina lasts about 2 minutes.
'A maestrina is available as free public-domain sheet music on IMSLP — the score is linked directly from this page.
Pieces at a comparable difficulty and character include 'A cagnacavalle by Albertin, 'O sbadiglio by Albertin, 'A cafettera by Albertin — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.