Ludwig van Beethoven, Brief an Joseph von Varena in Graz, Wien, 8. Mai 1812, Autograph

Beethoven turns to Joseph von Varena with a clarifying letter. On Easter Sunday the Ursuline nuns in Graz had performed the overture and the chorus no. 6 from Beethoven's op. 113 in a charity concert. Due to the delayed return of the performance material which Beethoven had lent Varena free-of-charge, Beethoven was forced to have copies made for his own academy. As a result Varena had apparently been worried that the composer might be annoyed because of this. Beethoven dismisses this fear, but apologizes for now having to ask the nuns to pay the cost of having the material copied.

As he has now had copies made, Beethoven sends all of the material back so that it can be used again. The material for the overture from op. 117 can also remain in Graz for the time being. As soon as he is in a position to have it copied, he will ask for it to be returned. The scores for op. 84 and op. 85 are a present, the nuns may freely use the parts for op. 85 for a performance.

Beethoven promises a "completely new symphony" (op. 92) for the next academy in Graz, possibly even "something important for voice" (according to the BGA this might have been the overture with parts from Schiller's "Ode to Joy" which had been sketched out at the time but was never completed). Beethoven hopes that the planned academy will be as successful as the one which has just taken place.

Beethoven had become acquainted with Joseph von Varena in summer 1811 in Teplitz and very much liked him. Varena, a great music lover, organized charity concerts in Graz for the benefit of the nuns and their institutions. Beethoven had lent them music free-of-charge for two of these concerts (in December 1811 and March 1812). The concerts seemed to have been very successful and the nuns showed their gratitude in the form of sweetmeats (Beethoven had generously waived all payment).