Ludwig van Beethoven, Brief an Ferdinand Ries in London, Wien, 25. Februar 1823, Autograph

In this letter Beethoven once again promises to soon send the Symphony op. 125 for the Philharmonic Society in London (see HCB Br 199; however, he only sent it a year later, in 1823 the symphony was far from being completed). In this letter Beethoven encloses the Overture op. 124 and the Bagatelles op. 119 (in two parts). Ries is to sell the latter as lucratively as possible. The overture is intended for exclusive performance by the Philharmonic Society, and they have suggested a sum of 25 pounds for the rental period of 18 months.

Beethoven enquires as to the Sonatas op. 110 and op. 111, which he has also sent to England to be sold. He complains about his difficult financial situation, but still plans to come to London in spring 1824. The friendly relationship between Ries and Beethoven is also shown by Beethoven's announcement "next spring 1824 I will be in London to kiss your wife". Although the trip had been planned since 1817, it never happened. Nor did Beethoven meet Ries' wife, but he dedicated a copy of his Diabelli Variations op. 120 to her.

For his part Ries dedicated his second Symphony op. 80 to Beethoven. Beethoven regrets still not having received a copy, otherwise he would have dedicated his Overture op. 124 to Ries if this proved to be a success in London. Beethoven had also thought about dedicating op. 125 to Ries but had not realized any of these ideas. He did not dedicate any of his works to Ries.