Schoeck arrived in Leipzig on 7 April 1907. As he had promised back in February, Reger soon put him in touch with his own publisher, Lauterbach and Kuhn, though after hearing Schoeck play to them for three hours they still showed no interest. By contrast, the Leipzig representative of the Zurich publishing house of Hug, Alexander Bartusch, was very keen indeed. Schoeck had met him on his second day in the city and was immediately impressed. Bartusch not only provided free coffee whenever they met at his apartment but also recommended a Zurich family from whom Schoeck could rent a room: a Mrs Eisele and her daughter Anny, a former student of the Zurich Conservatory who was now making a name for herself as a pianist. Schoeck moved in straightaway. He also promptly fell in love with Anny, though his letters to Armin Rüeger confirm his disappointment upon finding her possessed of firm moral fibre: “I'm not used to this!” he wrote. A piano concerto for her was planned, though it was swiftly forgotten as it became clear that she had no intention of submitting to his charms. The link to Bartusch proved profitable, though: by 25 June 1907 Schoeck had signed a contract with Hug for his first eleven opus numbers. Opus 1 was his Serenade for small orchestra (for which he received one hundred marks), while the following ten numbers were of assorted lieder (at twenty marks per song).