BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Saturday, November 27, 1824

Fries & Co., the Vienna financial agent for B. Schott’s Sons based in Mainz, acknowledges the receipt of their letter of August 12 with an altered bill of exchange for 500 florins, in favor of “v.Bethoven.” The firm continues, “This composer has still not given us anything for you, and we therefore asked him to give us an explanation.”

“As soon as we have a definite answer from Herr v.Bethoven, then we will be delighted to share it with you. In the meantime, we are, Fries & co.”

Brandenburg Letter 1902. The original is in the Mainz Archive of B. Schott’s Sons. The letter bears registration marks on the back dated 27 Nov 24, and 7 Jan 25, which would be the date the manuscripts will finally be received in Mainz.

Today’s Wiener Zeitung (Nr.273) at 1155 includes an advertisement for a newly-published vocal mass, Nr.1 in C major, for two tenors and two basses, with choral voices, written by Beethoven’s friend Tobias Haslinger and dedicated to Beethoven’s patron “his imperial highness and eminence Archduke Rudolph of Austria, Cardinal, and Archbishop of Olmütz, etc. etc. etc.”