From the Time Capsule: Emilie's admiration reaches Beethoven's Vienna!
03 March 2026 | Emilie M. (Hamburg)
Hamburg, 1 March 1813
My highly esteemed Mr. van Beethoven!
It is indeed a discourtesy that I only today take up the pen to answer those kind lines you deigned to send me, a mere child, last summer from Teplitz. But know, my dear Mr. van Beethoven, that your words shook my heart so deeply that I first had to seek silence to find the right answer. I now entrust this letter to the post in the earnest hope that it will reach you safely and in good health at your Viennese residence.
You wrote to me that I should not merely pursue art, but “also penetrate its inner depths”, as only „art and science elevate man to divinity”. I have made these words my sanctuary. When I sit at my piano and play your divine melodies, it feels as if a gate opens to a world that far surpasses the earthly.
You spoke so humbly that the “true artist has no pride” and “darkly feels how far he is from the goal”. How much this statement from your mouth shames me! If you, who control the spirit world with your tones, still consider yourself far from the goal, how shall I ever prove worthy? But you gave me hope that if I just persist, I may one day look deeper into those mysteries.
Forgive little Emilie her long delay. But rest assured: “Perhaps others admire me”, you write, but I do not merely admire you, I revere in you the messenger of the Highest.
Official note from the Logistics Center Vienna-Center, 03.03.2026
Forgive little Emilie her long delay. But rest assured: “Perhaps others admire me”, you write, but I do not merely admire you, I revere in you the messenger of the Highest.
I remain in deepest gratitude and reverence, as your always striving student.
Emilie
Official note from the Logistics Center Vienna-Center, 03.03.2026
Subject: Delivery of a historical mail item
The present letter was discovered during renovation work in the foundation of the former k.k. post office in a sealed leather capsule. Due to the precise addressing to a 'Mr. L. van Beethoven' and the philatelic classification in the year 1813, the document was professionally secured and handed over to the Technical Museum Vienna for conservation.
Signed, on behalf of the Post Archive Commission 2026
Note on history:
This letter is the fictional response to a real historical document. Ludwig van Beethoven wrote on July 17, 1812, from Teplitz to the then eight- to ten-year-old Emilie M. from Hamburg, after she had given him a self-made wallet and an admiring letter. Beethoven's response is considered one of his most significant testimonies about his understanding of art. The original letter of the composer can be viewed in the Digital Archive of the Beethoven House Bonn can be viewed.
Note on history:
This letter is the fictional response to a real historical document. Ludwig van Beethoven wrote on July 17, 1812, from Teplitz to the then eight- to ten-year-old Emilie M. from Hamburg, after she had given him a self-made wallet and an admiring letter. Beethoven's response is considered one of his most significant testimonies about his understanding of art. The original letter of the composer can be viewed in the Digital Archive of the Beethoven House Bonn can be viewed.
(AI generated image with ChatGPT)