Auctioning Off A Masterpiece

“In an era when the publishers of such ephemera as comic books and trading cards routinely set aside a few thousand copies as prefabricated ‘collectors items,’ a spectacular rarity is set for auction at Sotheby’s in London tomorrow. It is nothing less than a near-complete manuscript of what may be the most celebrated work of music in the repertory — the Symphony No. 9 in D Minor by Ludwig van Beethoven.”