Page "Peter Altenberg" Paragraph 7

Altenberg was never a commercially successful writer, but he did enjoy most if not all of the benefits of fame in his lifetime.

Some of the aphoristic poetry he wrote on the backs of postcards and scraps of paper were set to music by composer Alban Berg.

In 1913, Berg's Five songs on picture postcard texts by Peter Altenberg were premiered in Vienna.

The piece caused an uproar, and the performance had to be halted: a complete performance of the work was not given until 1952.