Ludwig van Beethoven may have gone deaf from lead poisoning caused by a penchant for fish and wine, Harvard scientists suggest. The composer was beset by health issues throughout his life ...

On March 27, 1827, the day after Ludwig van Beethoven's death, his associates uncovered a hidden trove of documents in his desk. Among them was the Heiligenstadt Testament, a letter written in 1802 to ...

One stormy Monday in March, 1827, the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven passed away after a protracted illness.

Erster Satz.” Beethoven, absolutely deaf, once said: “He who can enter into the spirit of my music will be beyond the reach of the world’s misery.” His “Ninth” sublimates his own ...

Beethoven's devastating hearing loss scarred all of his adult life, from his late 20s onwards. His deafness deepened the conflict he felt between the inner world of his imagination and the ...

The premiere, two days before Christmas in 1806, as Beethoven’s deafness was beginning to encroach on his work, was not a success. The concerto only came to prominence a generation later, when Felix ...