Ludwig van Beethoven, Billet an Johann Baptist Pasqualati, Wien, Ende Dezember 1814/Anfang Januar 1815, Autograph

Beethoven tells Pasqualati that he will come the following day and asks him to organize the letter for Adlersburg. He hints that Archduke Rudolph is not yet happy with the present letter.

The letter was written in connection with Beethoven's legal battle with the heirs of his patron Prince Kinsky. Following the Prince's death they were not prepared to continue paying Kinsky's part of the annuity, even though this had been agreed in writing. The letter to Adlersburg mentioned here is by the composer's lawyer Dr. Wolf in Prague in which he describes the progress of the negotiations. The letter with which the Archduke was not happy is probably a draft of the petition to the Landrecht (a kind of tribunal) in Bohemia, before which the case was fought. The Archduke had intervened on Beethoven's behalf with the guardian of Kinsky's heirs.

Due to the tradition, the billet is accompanied by a letter from Aloys Fuchs which can be seen on image 2 and 3.