Free Republic

A manuscript of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, scheduled to be auctioned by Sotheby's in London next month with an estimated sale price of $3 million to $4 million, may have been used at the premiere of the work in May 1824. Sotheby's London is prepared to sell a musical manuscript — the musical manuscript, one is tempted to say, given the few items that are likely to become available nowadays and the importance of the work involved — Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. In three bound volumes of 465 pages, the offering includes virtually the complete score of that symphony in manuscript....