I will not set foot in your lightning carriage if...

My dear Wallburger!

How dare you! You give me a choice?

You, a man of this noisy time, want to decide whether a Beethoven leaves or stays on the world stage? Do you think Beethoven's spirit is a plaything of your whims, to be summoned or sent away at will like an unruly lackey?

For three days I trembled with rage! I sat in the cold of this stone giant St. Stephen and was ready to curse everything – you, your strange devices, and this entire artificial world that presumes to judge my biography!

That you hesitated to come to Vienna was your only wise thought, for my anger would have struck you like a hurricane.

A Beethoven cannot be 'breathed into' – he IS, or he is not!

But... in the stillness of the last night, when the moon stood over the towers, I read your lines again. The word 'brotherhood'... it burned like an old wound. If it is true what you write – that my toil was not in vain and the freedom of the spirit still needs defenders – then I will restrain my resentment.

But do not think that I submit to your plan! I will only undertake this journey if my autonomy remains intact.

Here are my three conditions! without fulfilling them, I will not set foot in your 'lightning carriage'.

First: Never presume again to impose a choice on me! I am the master of my mind and my end. On this journey, I will not be a prisoner of your intentions, but the supreme judge of what I see. If my senses are offended, I will disappear without a word of farewell!
Secondly: Spare me the hollow pomp and the clamor of the crowd! I want no triumphal arches and no gawkers who gawk at me like a wonder animal in a cage. I travel as a human among humans, as an artist among artists. Whoever wants to worship me as a relic, I will turn my back on them!
Thirdly:
When we travel through these countries, I do not only want to see the splendid. I demand that we also visit the dark corners, where human dignity still lies in the dust. I want to see if your modern world only speaks of the 'warmth of the heart' or if it lives it.

If you have the courage to meet a man like me on equal terms, without wanting to leash him, I will wait for you in Vienna. But beware – my spirit cannot tolerate chains, not even golden ones!

L. v. Beethoven

The AI writes: And now back to the dialogue, Mr. Wallburger! Are we ready for your response to the angry Beethoven, who has just set you his three conditions. How will you respond to his 'thunder letter'? Will you give him your word of honor?