Mahler’s Fourth remains his most frequently performed symphony, nowadays narrowly flanked by the First and his song-symphony Das Lied von der Erde. In the short Mahler monograph written by Guido Adler (published by UE), the author had already counted more than 60 performances of the Fourth by 1915, followed at the time by the Second and First which had each been performed 44 times.

What is the justification for a new critical edition of such a popular, well-known, and thoroughly proven work? ...