was stolen in Vienna and published by A. (Artaria) and Co. Having been copied in a single night, it was full of errors.... Beethoven’s conduct in the matter is without parallel. He asked A. to send the fifty copies which had been printed to me for correction, but at the same time instructed me to use ink on the wretched paper and as coarsely as possible; also to cross out several lines so that it would be impossible to make use of a single copy or sell it. The scratching out was particularly in the Scherzo. I obeyed his instructions implicitly, etc.
Nottebohm has proved that the further statements of Ries touching the melting of the plates, etc., are wrong; but the enraged composer did make a public statement—and very properly:
To the Lovers of Music.
In informing the public that the original Quintet in C long ago advertised by me as having been published by Breitkopf and Härtel in Leipsic, I declare at the same time that I have no interest in the edition published simultaneously by Messrs. Artaria and Mollo in Vienna. I am the more compelled to make this declaration since this edition is very faulty, incorrect and utterly useless to players, whereas Messrs. Breitkopf and Härtel, the legal owners of this Quintet, have done all in their power to produce the work as handsomely as possible.
Ludwig van Beethoven.
A year later Beethoven revoked this declaration so far as it concerned Mollo in the following
Announcement to the Public.
After having inserted a statement in the “Wiener Zeitung” of January 22, 1803, in which I publicly declared that the edition of my Quintet published by Mollo did not appear under my supervision, was faulty in the extreme and useless to players, the undersigned hereby revokes the statement to the extent of saying that Messrs. Mollo and Co. have no interest in this edition, feeling that I owe such a declaration to do justice to Messrs. Mollo and Co. before a public entitled to respect.
Ludwig van Beethoven.