Ludwig van Beethoven, Brief an die Gräfin Maria Eleonora Fuchs, Wien, kurz nach dem 6. Januar 1813, Autograph

Countess Maria Eleonora Fuchs, née von Gallenberg (1786-1842), was the sister of composer Count Wenzel Robert von Gallenberg and therefore the sister-in-law of Beethoven's former piano student Julie Guicciardi, whom the composer had fallen in love with around 1801/1802. The letter refers to a concert of violin virtuoso and composer Pierre Rode, held in the Redouten hall on January 6, 1813 and to which the countess had invited Beethoven. The composer, however, is not feeling well and prefers to spend the time composing to ensure he can pay the bills for himself and his brother Kaspar Karl who is suffering from tuberculosis. Surely, he would have enjoyed it had Rode asked him for a new or unpublished composition. Instead, the concert's programme then included the first movement of Beethoven's fourth symphony, a new violin concert from Rode, an aria from Simon Mayr's "Elisa" and another aria from Ferdinando Paer's "Camilla". (F.G.)