BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Wednesday, December 14, 1825

Canadian music teacher Theodor Molt, who visited Beethoven on Monday, December 12, writes the composer a short letter today as a follow-up. “Most reverend sir! When I recently made so free as to visit you, I refrained from expressing a wish to you, which I hereby most respectfully dare to present to you in this letter.”

“After my departure from here, I will never have the good fortune to come near you again, so please forgive me if I present to you a small leaf from my album to fill out, which will remain an eternally precious document to me at a distance of almost 3,000 hours (to which I will travel again from here). I consider myself fortunate to have seen several of those famous European composers whom I knew from their works in America, and I will be proud to be able to say to my friends there, who are also your fellow admirers, ‘See, Beethoven wrote this for me, from his great soul.'”

“Please allow me to contact you by [Molt crosses out “the day after”] tomorrow for a kind reply. With most sincere respect, your most obedient servant, Theodor Molt, Music teacher in Quebec in North America.”

Brandenburg Letter 2099; Albrecht Letter 421. The original is held in the Frankfurt City and University Library (Music and Theater Department, Autograph Collection: Molt: A 1). Beethoven will comply with this request in two days.