Antibiotic penicillin led to renewed interest in the search for antibiotic compounds with similar efficacy and safety. For their successful development of penicillin, which Fleming had accidentally discovered but could not develop himself, as a therapeutic drug, Chain and Florey shared the 1945 Nobel Prize in Medicine with Fleming. Florey credited Rene Dubos with pioneering the approach of deliberately and systematically searching for antibacterial compounds, which had led to the discovery of gramicidin and had revived Florey's research in penicillin. In 1939, coinciding with the start of World War II, Dubos had reported the discovery of the first naturally derived antibiotic,
The Teacher Who Was Not To Be of Music. In his letter Thommessen chastised Paus for his tonal music. A long monologue on why Paus has misunderstood everything about music ends with the words "I do not want any more verbal contact with you." At the time the opera monologue premiered, the "Teacher" in the monologue remained anonymous. The monologue played an important role in an extensive debate on musical aesthetics in the music journal "Ballade" in 2015, during which the formerly anonymous "Teacher" was revealed by Paus to be Olav Anton Thommessen. The Teacher Who Was Not To Be The Teacher Who Was Not To Be