Joyce Maier wrote:

>Walter Meyer wrote:
>
>>Neither Beethoven nor Brahms, so far as I know, composed under the
>>protection of any patrons.
>
>Depends on what you prefer to call "protection of any patrons." For
>Beethoven I tend to disagree with this statement.

Well, I did write "so far as I know" and you've informed me of more than
I knew before!  I was under the impression that many of his works were
composed in exchange for payments by publishers, some of which possibly
having been sold to several different publishers before they were written.

wm