On a tempestuous Monday in March of 1827, the esteemed German composer Ludwig von Beethoven succumbed to a prolonged ailment. Confined to his bed since the preceding Christmas, he was afflicted with jaundice, his extremities and abdomen exhibiting significant swelling, making each respiration an arduous undertaking.
As his confidants undertook the methodical process of inventorying his personal effects, they discovered a document Beethoven had penned a quarter-century prior. This testament implored his brothers to disseminate information regarding his medical condition to the public.
It is now widely recognized that one of history’s most revered musical luminaries experienced functional deafness by his mid-forties. This presented a poignant irony that Beethoven desired the world to comprehend, not solely from a personal vantage, but also from a medical perspective.
The composer would ultimately outlive his attending physician by nearly two decades. Yet, close to two centuries following Beethoven’s demise, a consortium of researchers embarked on a quest to honor his final wishes in ways he could have scarcely envisioned, by undertaking a genetic analysis of DNA extracted from authenticated samples of his hair.
“Our principal objective was to illuminate Beethoven’s health challenges, renowned for including progressive auditory impairment that commenced in his mid-to-late twenties, ultimately rendering him functionally deaf by 1818,” stated biochemist Johannes Krause of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany.
The fundamental etiology of his hearing deterioration remained elusive, even to his personal medical advisor, Dr. Johann Adam Schmidt. What initially manifested as auditory ringing in his twenties gradually evolved into diminished tolerance for loud sounds, culminating in the loss of high-frequency perception, thereby effectively curtailing his career as a performing artist.
For an individual dedicated to music, this circumstance represented a profound paradox. In correspondence to his siblings, Beethoven confessed to being “hopelessly afflicted,” to the degree that he contemplated self-termination.
Beyond his auditory struggles, the composer contended with other significant health issues throughout his adult life. From approximately the age of 22, he reportedly endured severe abdominal discomfort and recurrent episodes of debilitating diarrhea.
Six years prior to his passing, the initial signs of hepatic disease became apparent, an affliction believed to have been a contributing factor, at the very least, to his death at the relatively premature age of 56.
In 2007, an investigative forensic examination of a lock of hair purported to belong to Beethoven suggested that lead poisoning may have accelerated his demise, if not been the ultimate cause of the symptoms that led to his end.
Considering the prevalent practice of consuming beverages from lead vessels and the medical interventions of that era which incorporated lead compounds, this conclusion was not entirely unexpected.
However, this most recent scholarly inquiry refutes that hypothesis, revealing that the hair sample in question did not originate from Beethoven at all, but rather from an unidentified female.
More significantly, several strands of hair confirmed with a high degree of certainty as originating from the composer’s head indicate that his death was likely attributable to a hepatitis B infection, exacerbated by his considerable alcohol consumption and numerous other risk factors for liver disease.
As for his other afflictions?
“We were unable to ascertain a definitive cause for Beethoven’s hearing impairment or his gastrointestinal complaints,” commented Krause.
In certain respects, this research leaves us with a greater number of unanswered questions concerning the life and ultimate fate of the renowned classical maestro. Where did he contract the hepatitis virus? How did a strand of female hair erroneously pass as Beethoven’s for centuries? And what precisely underpinned his persistent gut distress and progressive loss of hearing?
Considering the research team’s inspiration stemmed from Beethoven’s earnest desire for the world to comprehend his auditory challenges, this outcome is somewhat disheartening. Nevertheless, an additional unexpected revelation was unearthed within his genetic profile.
Further comparative analysis of the Y chromosomes present in the hair samples, against those of contemporary male descendants tracing back through Beethoven’s paternal lineage, revealed a divergence. It appears there were instances of extramarital relationships within the generations preceding the composer’s birth.
“This discovery suggests an extrapair paternity event within his paternal line, occurring between the conception of Hendrik van Beethoven in Kampenhout, Belgium, circa 1572, and the conception of Ludwig van Beethoven seven generations later in 1770, in Bonn, Germany,” explained Tristan Begg, a biological anthropologist now affiliated with the University of Cambridge in the UK.
This complex tapestry of revelations might prove more than a younger Beethoven could have ever anticipated, particularly given the significant request he formally documented. He could never have fathomed the profound secrets that were being meticulously preserved as his friends and acquaintances carefully collected strands of his hair in the aftermath of that somber, stormy Monday eve in 1827.
