Tag Archives: Beethovens

A groundbreaking study involving DNA analysis of Beethoven’s remains has provided fresh insights into the composer’s health, genetic lineage, and possible causes behind his legendary hearing loss. Published in Current Biology, the study, led by biochemist Johannes Krause at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, explored Beethoven’s genetic makeup in an effort to uncover the mysteries of his declining …

On a stormy Monday in March, 1827, the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven passed away after a protracted illness. Bedridden since the previous Christmas, he was ravaged by jaundice, his limbs and abdomen swollen, and every breath a struggle. As his associates sorted through personal belongings, they uncovered a document Beethoven had written a quarter of a century earlier – …