Necke was famous for light, pleasant character pieces, and this work is a quintessential example of the genre. It features a bright, major-key melody supported by consistent, rhythmic accompaniment patterns.
At Henle 3 this is a late-beginner piece — comfortable hands-together playing is assumed, and musical shaping starts to matter. The main demands: Alberti-bass accompaniment kept quiet and even under the melody; fast passage work that stays light and even at tempo; and precise articulation — the difference between crisp and blurred is the piece.
Ensure that the Alberti-bass figures are played evenly and do not overpower the melody.
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.
Excelsior is rated Henle level 3 of 9 — late beginner repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 4–5. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 5.
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 Excelsior lasts about 4 minutes.
Excelsior 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 Die Mühle im Waldtal by Hermann Necke, Erste Liebe by Hermann Necke, Das Kind hat keine Mutter mehr by Hermann Necke — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.