Beethoven refers to the publication of the Mass op. 123. A year earlier he had negotiated publishing it with Simrock in Bonn with a German text. Franz Brentano in Frankfurt had served as a go-between in this matter. However, the project was very protracted, not least because Simrock was not prepared to pay very much. In the meantime other publishers had begun to show interest in the work. Beethoven was pleased to give in to this for financial reasons. The year before Brentano had already given Beethoven an advance on the money that Simrock was going to pay. Beethoven now promises - as the business agreement with Simrock has fallen through - that the payment he will shortly receive from another publisher (he was negotiating with Schlesinger) will be directly transferred to Brentano.
In recognition of all the help which the Brentanos had given him, Beethoven had dedicated the Sonata op. 109 to their daughter Maximiliane. The composer now tells him this in the letter. At the same time he asks Franz Brentano's forgiveness that he did not first ask the parents' permission regarding the dedication. Beethoven asks him not to misunderstand the dedication, but rather to see it solely as a sign of his friendship and his gratitude to the Brentano family.
Finally Beethoven wishes him all the best for the new year. In a short postscript he returns to the subject of the mass and asks for forebearance, trust and understanding.
