Oblong folio. 13.5 x 10 inches (33.7 x 25.9 cm). Original publisher's printed wrappers. 16 pp. Schoenberg's preface, "Die vereinfachte Studier- und Dirigier-Partitur," explains the experimental layout of the score. Browned, fragile paper with small tears around the edges and a larger loss upper left of title; 

4 pages separated at spine. Rufer (E), pp. 40-41. GA B/3, pp. 189-90. The second issue (1920) was printed on better quality paper and in a slightly larger format than the present copy of the true first. This copy unmarked, but from the library of Dimitri Mitropoulos.

The Four Songs of op. 22 were Schoenberg's last composition before his seven-year hiatus as a composer, which ended only with his development of dodecaphony. They are set to texts by Ernest Dowson (1867-1900), in German translation by Stefan George (1868-1933) and Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926). The title does not specify a register for the vocal part, but a soprano is implied. "Schoenberg's 'simplified score for study and conducting' is supposed to resemble, in its appearance, a piano reduction for two or four-if necessary, also for six or eight-hands. The simplified notation of an orchestral score, however, is not the result of a [similar] simplification of the orchestra. The fact that similar sonorities are written in completely different ways makes reading more difficult, and Schoenberg never reverted to this manner of notation." (Agnes Grond Arnold Schönberg Center)

Dimitri Mitropoulos was Greece’s most prolific conductor and New York Philharmonic Music Director from 1949-1958. Widely regarded as one of the most significant conductors of the twentieth century, he is best remembered for his significant recorded legacy and for his commitment in bringing new compositions to the stage of major symphony orchestras. Indeed, it is thanks to his efforts that many of our current symphonic standards made their way into the repertory. He gave World and American premiers of seminal works such as Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 6 and Schoenberg’s Erwartung, as well as other major works by Schoenberg, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, and many others. His personal collection has been held in private hands since his death in 1960, when it passed to conductor James Dixon, his student and protégé.  Mitropoulos came to consider Dixon his son, introducing him to conductors and performing arts institutions around the world, jumpstarting his career.  When Mitropoulos died in 1960 he left all his belongings, including his scores, to Dixon. The bulk of the musical library has been subsequently gifted to the University of Iowa’s music library, but a selection of rare items have been selected to be offered for sale exclusively by Schubertiade Music & Arts.