Ludwig van Beethoven, Brief an Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig, Baden, 21. August 1810, Autograph

Beethoven justifies himself to his publisher, setting down details of his payment wishes and in so doing, reinforces the letter his friend Oliva had drafted at the beginning of August (HCB Br 87, BG 464).

Then Beethoven turns to the works which are to published. He names the people to whom opp. , 75, 77 and 78 are to be dedicated. Beethoven asks for a practical presentation for the String Quartet op. 74 so that the musicians are able to turn the pages comfortably and also writes down some further detailed corrections. The Piano Sonatas op. 79 and op. 81a are to be published separately. The Flohlied from op. 75 can be checked against Goethe's text if his comments are not clear.

As far as the allocation of opus numbers is concerned, the publisher should keep to the numbers which have been allocated to date and continue chronologically. The quartet and the piano concerto (opp. 73 and 74) were written before the other works. Beethoven wants to have four author's copies of each work and assures the publisher that he will not sell them but only give them to impoverished artists.

Beethoven asks when his Mass op. 86, the Oratorio op. 85 and the Opera op. 72 will appear. In addition he asks for a list of the titles of the Lieder from opp. 75 and 82 because he is no longer sure which ones he has already sent to Leipzig. He promises to send the last package (opp. 81a, 82 and 84) in the next few days. The second package must have now arrived in Leipzig, with the exception of the Songs op. 83. He has held on to these until he has received the list of the Lieder sent to date.

As far as the Concerto op. 73 is concerned, it is to be dedicated to Archduke Rudolph, as is Egmont op. 84. Beethoven wants to hear from his publisher soon about the complete edition of his works which he has suggested.

For the Choral Fantasia op. 80 he suggests also notating the vocal parts in the piano part. He leaves it up to the publisher whether to underlay a different text.

In a postscript he adds comments for op. 85, with regard to the letter of 4 February 1810 (HCB Br 85, BG 423). He would also like to send a different organ part for the Mass (op. 86). Finally he draws the publisher's attention to mistakes he has found in the edition of the Fifth Symphony op. 67.