Ludwig van Beethoven, Brief an Johann Peter Salomon in London, Wien, 1. Juni 1815, Autograph

Beethoven knew Johann Peter Salomon from his days in Bonn. Salomon was a musician at the court in Bonn until 1765, and the Beethoven and Salomon families were friends (and neighbours in Bonngasse). Although Salomon had already left Bonn before the composer was born, he came back to visit several times and so Beethoven got to know him.

In this letter Beethoven asks Salomon to offer several of his works to London publishers (opp. 97, 96, 92, 93, 95, 72, 136, 91). In connection with possible publishers Beethoven also mentions Johann Baptist Cramer, although he is not very enamoured of him. (Cramer had probably made negative remarks about Beethoven's works.) Yet he does not dismiss him as a publisher. Beethoven reserves the right to have the works published in Austria. He also asks Salomon whether he sees a chance of at least having the copying costs for op. 91 reimbursed by the English Prince Regent. Beethoven had sent George a copy of "The Battle of Vittoria", requesting permission to dedicate the edition to him. However, the English court had not reacted to this, let alone sent him a token of recognition or even a sum of money (as was usually the case). The work was performed in London with great success. A rumour even reached Beethoven that a piano reduction was being passed around. Beethoven was understandably angered by this as he thought this was robbing him of his rights and payment as the work's composer.

This belief in the violation of his rights as an author is not just hurt pride but also first and foremost a financial issue. At the time copyright was only practised in a rudimentary form; royalties were not paid out for additional performances or further impressions of the works.

Beethoven tells Salomon about the high inflation in Vienna and the difficulty he thus has drawing his annuity so that it does not drop too much in value. Payment for compositions and pirate copies was not only a question of honour for the composer but also mainly a question of survival.