Ludwig van Beethoven, Billet an Ignaz von Gleichenstein, Wien, vermutlich Sommer 1810, Autograph

Beethoven has probably enclosed a composition by the Archduke in this letter to his friend Gleichenstein. With regard to the composition he writes, "the music fits the poetry so well that one really can say that they are both a pair of boring sisters".

He asks Gleichenstein to tell him when he is at home and affirms his friendship.

The tone of this letter is clearly colder than that of Beethoven's earlier letters to his friend. This allows us to conclude that the letter was written after Beethoven's failed marriage proposal to Therese Malfatti, Gleichenstein's sister-in-law. She had turned him down and this had led to a certain distance between Beethoven and Gleichenstein.