Wednesday, April 28, 1824

Early on the morning of Wednesday, April 28, brother Johann appeared on Beethoven's doorstep to get the Symphony—presumably a copy to be sent to Ferdinand Ries in London in order to raise some much-needed cash. With the practical preparations for the premiere in Vienna, Beethoven had not had time to order or proofread a copy for Ries. As a result, Johann sarcastically reproached the composer for his seeming neglect and left.

When Schindler arrived later in the morning, after running errands, he found Beethoven still in a bad mood: “Just don't be so glum.” Otherwise, Schindler had good news and bad news. In order to provide the Kärntnertor Theater's choral director, Ignaz Dirzka, material to rehearse, he had borrowed the choral parts (presumably for the Missa solemnis) already supplied to the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde and temporarily gave them to Dirzka. By that afternoon, Schindler projected, he could have everything.

On the negative side, Schindler had learned that the police president, Count Sedlnitzky, would not allow Beethoven to raise the price of theater tickets. Because the Kärntnertor Theater, when jam-packed, could hold as many as 2,400 people, raising the prices by even a few kreuzer would have sweetened Beethoven's budget considerably.

Schindler left, taking some more chorus parts with him, promising to be back in the afternoon to pick up the scores of all the music and (using the maid as his packhorse in order to save carriage fare) take them to conductor Michael Umlauf, so that “he gets everything today.”

At some time during the day, copyist Peter Gläser came to Beethoven's apartment with one of his staff and probably copied, double-checking with Beethoven to be sure that he was satisfied, until late afternoon.

Around midafternoon, Schindler arrived back at Beethoven's apartment, reporting that Duport was committed to doing everything possible for the composer at the theater, but also that Count Moritz Lichnowsky had visited Bäuerle and took him to task about making the Ludlamshöhle Petition public; and that Vogel, the assistant manager at the Theater an der Wien, possibly influenced by Lichnowsky's indignation, had refused to allow the tenor Jäger to sing at the Kärntnertor Theater. Therefore, Beethoven would have to find another tenor. Because Gläser was sitting within earshot, Schindler wrote his side of the conversation very extensively.