This is one of those moments.
You’re at a junction, and you have to make a choice.
Do you take the plunge? Or do you wait until next time?
But sadly, for this item, there won’t be a next time.
This is a one-off opportunity to purchase a piece of music history. Once the item is gone, it’s very likely it will be gone for ever.
Put simply, it’s the kind of object you can see any time... but normally behind a glass case, with an alarm that goes off if you touch it!
And as you will soon find out, this is the smart time to buy.
But first, some background...
In 2002, the earliest-known draft of the Beethoven masterpiece the Ninth Symphony appeared at auction.
The experts at Sotheby's expected it to sell well... they settled on a £200,000 upper estimate.
But they were in for a shock.
When the hammer came down for the final time, a new world record had been set.
The price? £1.3m.
£1.3m ($2.65m) for a single-sheet manuscript, sold to an anonymous telephone bidder.
The following year, the 80-page ‘lost’ manuscript of Beethoven’s Grosse Fuge in B flat major, composed not long before his death, also appeared at auction.
It too was destined to hit the headlines... selling for £1.13m ($2.3m).
“The market for items relating to famous composers is one of the exciting growth areas of collecting in recent years” says our resident expert Paul Fraser.
“Of the many important composers it’s Mozart and Beethoven who arouse the most interest. Grade A items hardly ever appear on the open market, so as an investment, you can’t really get much better...
And I don’t know of any other investment that will guarantee you a £52,500 capital-gain.”
...and it’s an investment you should be considering. This is all about diversification, making sure all your eggs are not in one basket.
Off course, not everyone has £1.3m tucked away in their bank account.
But now, you have a chance to enter the market for a lot less...
Why now? Why today?
First let’s consider the man himself.
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) remains one of the most famous and influential musicians of all time.
He began his career as an outrageously gifted young pianist, and famously continued to produce exquisite masterpieces in later life despite total deafness.
One of his most important early relationships was with celebrated Austrian composer Joseph Haydn. This year actually marks the 215th anniversary Beethoven’s first music composition lesson with Haydn in his Vienna studio.
To celebrate this turning point in Beethoven’s early life, we are offering you a once in a lifetime opportunity to invest in a treasured artefact from the annals of music history.
So what is it?
It dates from 1816.
1816 was an important year.
It was the year Argentina gained independence, the year Indiana was admitted as the 19th US State, the year Charlotte Brontë was born...
...and the year Ludwig van Beethoven, creator of some of the most inspirational music ever composed, wrote a grumpy letter from his sickbed.
This light grey clipped letter has survived in excellent condition, and now it could be yours.
It is handwritten in German and signed in bold black pen ink by the man himself.
Beethoven was bedridden and suffering from a chill.
At the time of writing, he had already been completely deaf for two whole years, but amazingly continued to compose, conduct and perform.
Indeed in the letter he specifically mentions the publication of the group of songs ‘On the Absent Beloved, Opus 98’, published December 1816.
This precious item also gives a glimpse of his notoriously difficult personality, with the grumpy closing line:
‘No one asks how I am despite the fact that I have been in bed for eight days.’
And he signs the letter ‘The G(enius) in bed’.
While it’s true that 1816 was a relatively unproductive phase of Beethoven’s career, it was also pivotal.
Remember, this letter was written by a man who was about to embark on his masterpiece – the Ninth.
Handwritten items such as this are incredibly rare, especially from such a vital stage in his career.
It is even rarer to find one in such good condition, and on the open market. It also comes ready mounted, framed and glazed, together with a reproduction portrait.
Something so precious is normally the property of a museum, or an institution.
Remember, its rarity is only going to increase, and its value is only going one way – upwards.
Paul Fraser says: “There has been a cumulative increase of 204% in our Rare Autograph Index in the last 8 years. And this is much more than just an autograph. This is a letter written and handled by the greatest composer who ever lived. Its importance can not be overstated.”
Not convinced? Well consider this:
Soon, it will be 2010 – the 240th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth. This will see yet more interest in his life, works and artefacts.
Paul says: “An important anniversary always fuels interest and prices. And that makes this the smart time to invest – just before prices start to shoot up.”
Remember, just six years after that, and the letter itself celebrates its 200th birthday. And then it’s only another four years until Beethoven’s 250th birthday, an even more important landmark.
It’s a great opportunity.
Happy investing!
Adrian Roose
+44 (0) 1481 708 277
aroose@stanleygibbons.co.uk
www.stanleygibbons.com/investment
