Beethoven offers the Leipzig publisher Hoffmeister his second Piano Concerto op. 19, the First Symphony op. 21, the Septet op. 20 as well as the Piano Sonata op. 22. He regrets that he has already sold the String Quartets op. 18 as well as the Piano Concerto op. 15 to Mollo in Vienna. Beethoven discreetly draws Hoffmeister's attention to the possibility of producing a pirate copy (Hoffmeister did not do so).
Beethoven's comment on op. 20 that all the instruments in the septet are obligato has been cited many times. He adds "I cannot write anything that is not obligato because I already came into the world with an obligato accompagnement".
Beethoven asks Hoffmeister to make him an offer for the works named. This did not happen and Beethoven himself suggests prices in another letter (NE 160, BGA 54).
