This piece is a classic Romantic character work centered on the theme of early memories and youthful sentiment. Its harmonic language is heavily influenced by the style of salon-era song composers.
At Henle 3 this is a late-beginner piece — comfortable hands-together playing is assumed, and musical shaping starts to matter. The main demands: rubato that must breathe naturally without losing the pulse; a true singing tone, with the melody floating above the accompaniment; and careful pedaling — clarity depends on the foot as much as the fingers.
Beyond that, expect chord voicing — bringing out one note inside a handful of others, and sweeping arpeggio figures that must stay smooth across positions.
Develop a sophisticated approach to rubato to convey the intended longing and tenderness.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
A level or two down with the same spirit — ideal if this piece is still out of reach.
Where this piece's skills lead: slightly harder works making similar technical demands.
Erinnerung an die erste Liebe (Op.50) is rated Henle level 3 of 9 — late beginner repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 4–5. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 6.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 3 — meaning you can already play level 2–3 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 Erinnerung an die erste Liebe (Op.50) lasts about 5 minutes.
Erinnerung an die erste Liebe (Op.50) 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 Für Elise by Ludwig van Beethoven, 'O sole mio by Eduardo Di Capua, Prelude in E minor, No. 4 by Frédéric Chopin — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.