BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Thursday, October 18, 1821

Today, Franz Brentano writes Beethoven from Frankfurt. As patient readers may recall, about a year ago Beethoven had grudgingly agreed to accept a fee of 100 friedrichs d’or from Bonn publisher Nikolaus Simrock for the Missa Solemnis. It seems that Brentano paid Beethoven an advance on the fee to be due from Simrock upon completion of the Mass. Brentano now understandably writes to ask Beethoven where the manuscript is.

The original letter is lost, but its existence and contents are known from Brentano’s note on Brandenburg letter 1419 (Beethoven’s letter to Brentano dated November 28, 1820) and from Beethoven’s response to Brentano dated November 12, 1821 (Brandenburg letter 1445).