His contract as the music director of the literary "Überbrettl" Cabaret at Ernst von Wolzogen's "Buntes Theater" [Colorful Theater] in Berlin which, in spite of its initial popularity, was a flop with Berlin's high society, had expired after only a year. The teaching job at the Stern'sches Konservatorium [Stern Conservatory], obtained thanks to an intervention on his behalf by Richard Strauss, was limited to a single semester.
Thanks to the networking help of his brother-in-law, Alexander Zemlinsky who was artistic director of the Carlstheater until , Schönberg's commission situation in Vienna took a turn for the better, though at the same time, compositional activity had to yield to more practical work - orchestrations, piano arrangements for two or four hands including the four-hand piano reductions of Rossini's Opera, "The Barber of Seville," Lortzing's "Waffenschmid" and Schubert's "Rosamunde" for Universal Edition.
In , after having composed the Songs for Piano, Op. As he had already with Op. There followed the songs "Natur", after a text by Heinrich Hart Op. There, he worked together with Alexander Zemlinsky on a commission of the publishing house of Josef Weinberger, an orchestration and piano reduction of the opera, "Bergkönig" by Robert Fischhof, which appeared one year later entitled, "Ingeborg"; he also worked on his own compositions, such as the First String Quartet in D minor Op.
On July 3rd, Schönberg completed the score to "Nie ward ich, Herrin, müd". I think it's going to be very good! This time, I've set out to combine the art of voice-leading with that of orchestration. I hope I am able to do it. My quartet is sitting idle. But maybe I'll get to it yet. Unfortunately, I have to compact Fischof for the piano, explode him for orchestra, just simply spit him out again.
I recently said to myself, if they ever go and erect some of those 'here composed' memorial placards for me around the countryside, it would always have to be: 'here orchestrated'. In , the secondary school, formerly just for girls, had been expanded into a co-educational school with an advanced track focused on nurturing artistic gifts. The educational reformer Eugenie Schwarzwald had gotten to know Schönberg through Adolf Loos, and hired him for courses in harmony and counterpoint.
