Franz Liszt, Brief an Heinrich Carl Breidenstein in Bonn, Marseille, 1. Mai 1845, Autograph

In this letter Liszt, announcing his arrival in Bonn in mid-July, gives important instructions to the committee. He is particularly focused on the European impression of the tribute to Beethoven, that, according to many people, has a national character. In this regard he considers it very important that apart from leading personalities of the German music scene (Giacomo Meyerbeer, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and Louis Spohr) Hector Berlioz and François-Joseph Fétis also receive a personal invitation. A "circular invitation" is to be published not only in the national newspapers but also in Journal des Débats, The Times and European music magazines.

The letter furthermore contains information on Liszt's festive cantata that has caused a lot of dispute concerning its suitability for a tribute to Beethoven. "I have already finished the cantata but the instrumentation is not complete yet. I will send you the score in three weeks. I hope rehearsing it will not be too much effort. The style is fairly common and a few orchestra rehearsals should be sufficient." (Michael Ladenburger)