In 1916, as part of the series Az elemi zongorajáték gyakorlati tananyaga [Practical Repertory for Elementary Piano Playing], Rózsavölgyi & Co. published Bartók's selection of twelve pieces from the collection usually given the title Notenbüchlein für Anna Magdalena Bach. A revised 1923 edition added one more piece. The contents of our edition are an identical reprint of the 1923 version, including Bartók's in-depth preface in both Hungarian and German and the footnotes he added to the individual pieces (also provided here in an English translation).

Johann Sebastian Bach gave his second wife Anna Magdalena two manuscript music-books which contain, besides his own works, compositions by other contemporaries. The present selection includes 13 pieces from the second book (dated to 1725).