In an official letter Beethoven turns to the widow of his patron Prince Ferdinand Kinsky. He asks for the quarterly payment of his annuity, which had been agreed with the deceased in a contract and in addition asks her to pay the outstanding sum as soon as possible. He also describes the occasion of the payments, how they were made and their value to date.
In 1809 Beethoven had been offered a job as court musical director by Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte, King of Westphalia. To prevent him from moving to Kassel, Princes Kinsky and Lobkowitz and Archduke Rudolph had decided to pay Beethoven a regular annuity, details of which were laid down in an agreement. After Prince Kinsky had died in November 1812 as the result of a riding accident, Beethoven was concerned about losing this part of the annuity. Due to the devaluation of the currency following the Napoleonic Wars it had also sunk in value. Beethoven enclosed a handwritten letter (HCB BBr 27, BGA 607) with the official one.
