Joyce Maier <[log in to unmask]> said:

>Yes, that's very regrettable indeed, particularly because I know -by inside
>information- that there's an unpublished Beethoven letter in which he wrote
>some striking and amazing lines about the Brentano family. IMHO these lines
>are enough to send the hypothesis for Antonie to the dustbin forever. The
>letter belongs to a private collection and the owner, living in Paris, is
>a member of an old noble family. He's unwilling to publish it. For
>Beethoven researchers this is almost a torture!

There seems to be virtual unanimity on this list that Solomon was wrong
in his Brentano deduction.  He admits that there is room for reasonable
doubt, but it seems to me that he presents a plausible case for the
identification.  As for a letter in the possession of a mysterious
nobleman, but unavailable to anyone else . . .  come on now!

Richard, who invites you to visit his classical music site at
http://opuspocus.ca