In 1976, letters by Alban Berg, renowned composer, were discovered in the posthumous papers of Hanna Fuchs-Robettin, wife of a Prague industrialist. In the 1920s, Berg gained international notoriety with his opera Wozzeck and the "Lyric Suite", which was inspired by his relationship with Fuchs. This work tells the story behind the "Lyric Suite".

In the fall of 1976, 14 letters by Alban Berg, renowned composer of the Second Viennese School, were discovered in the posthumous papers of Hanna Fuchs-Robettin, wife of a Prague industrialist and sister of Franz Werfel, the well-known Austro-Czech writer. In the 1920s, Berg gained international notoriety with his opera Wozzeck and the "Lyric Suite", which was largely inspired by his relationship with Fuchs. The secret letters were delivered to Hanna surreptitiously by Theodor Adorno and Alma Mahler Werfel. They were brought to New York by Hanna on her flight from Nazi persecution, and were eventually found in her estate after her death. First discovered by George Perle, then deciphered and transcribed in German by Constantin Floros, they appear here in English for the first time.

Introduction
Note on Translation1. The "Matter of Hanna Fuchs"
2. Inventory and Chronology of the Official and the Secret Letters
3. Alban Berg's Correspondence with Hanna and Herbert Fuchs-Robettin
4. The History of an Unhappy Love
5. The Lyric Suite
6.
"Whom but you does it concern ..."
Afterword: Hanna and HeleneAppendix: Two Letters by Theodore W. Adorno to Helene Berg
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index