In this article Mark Gotham deals with the question of what Beethoven's surviving handwritten notes reveal about his idea of the 10th symphony.
The earliest sketch that can be safely assigned to the 10th symphony is from 1817 or 1818, when Beethoven agrees to compose two symphonies (the 9th and the 10th) for the Philharmonic Society of London. However, Beethoven puts his ideas on paper in words and not in notes.
Here you can read the complete article (pdf, 65.3 KB).
