Birmingham Musical Festival Dvořák Antonín

25th Febr’y 1891

My Dear Sir

I greatly regret to hear from Mr. Alfred Littleton that he has not been able to come to terms with you as to the publication of your new Requiem. It has been publicly announced, not only in Birmingham but generally in England, that you had accepted an invitation to compose a Work for Birmingham Festival, and I fear that public disappointment will be very great if the Requiem is not in our Programme and that prospect of our Festival will be very much injured.

The Requiem would, especially if as we hoped, it was, dedicated to the memory of the late Cardinal Newman, have been received here with more than ordinary enthusiasm.

We are however entirely in your hands in this matter, but I must ask you to let me know as soon as possible whether your disagreement with Messrs Novello is final, as if so there is no time to be lost in replacing your Work with some other Music however great the disappointment will be.

Yours faithfully

Charles G. Beale

Herr Antonin Dvořák

10 Korngasse

Prague