Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) was a prodigious composer, credited with 722 works that pushed the boundaries of music and ushered in the Romantic era. Yet, his personal life was marred by several health challenges. Beethoven continued working despite deafness (and what a curse that must have felt like for a composer of his caliber), gastrointestinal troubles, and jaundice.
A year ago, scientists sequenced Beethoven’s genome from his hair. They found genetic risk factors for liver disease but nothing conclusive about his other ailments. Now, new research suggests lead toxicity might explain the composer’s suffering.
The Struggles of Ludwig van Beethoven
Beethoven began losing his hearing in his mid-20s and was fully deaf by his mid-40s. It was like Picasso losing his eyesight or Rodin losing his fingers.
But Beethoven was a strong-willed spirit who didn’t give up easily. Despite his rapidly deteriorating hearing, from 1803 to 1812, Beethoven composed an opera, six symphonies, four solo concerti, five string quartets, six-string sonatas, seven piano sonatas, five sets of piano variations, four overtures, four trios, two sextets, and 72 songs.
Even in full-blown deafness, Beethoven was still able to compose by placing one end of a wooden stick onto his piano and clenching the other end with his teeth. When notes were struck, the vibrations from the piano were transferred to his jaw, and from there directly to his inner ear.
Impressively, Beethoven’s clever bone-conducting solution is used in some hearing devices today. A bone-conducting hearing device, or BAHA, converts the sound picked up by its microphone into vibrations that are transmitted through the bones of the skull to the cochlea of the inner ear. Essentially, the device serves the role of an eardrum.
However, his other debilitating health conditions proved much harder to overcome.
The Role of Lead in Beethoven’s Health
In 2023, geneticist Tristan Begg and colleagues at the University of Cambridge performed the first reliable DNA test of Beethoven. They used strands from a lock of hair that was safely kept for more than 200 years. It was very common during Beethoven’s lifetime for people to collect and keep locks of hair from loved ones or famous people.
Beethoven’s genome shows he was predisposed to liver disease, which seems to confirm a long-standing theory that the great composer died of cirrhosis. Additionally, traces of hepatitis B were found in his hair, suggesting a childhood infection.
Researchers at Mayo Clinic’s Metals Laboratory also received several strands of Beethoven’s coveted hair. They carefully processed these then placed them in a mass spectrometer to measure heavy metal concentrations. They found slightly elevated levels of arsenic and mercury. However, lead levels were through the roof at up to 95 times higher than in modern individuals.
Lead is a toxic metal naturally found in the Earth’s crust. It has no useful purpose in the body. However, it mimics essential elements. This allows lead to be incorporated into enzyme and molecular structures, which can cause brain damage, hypertension, and kidney problems.
This significant lead exposure likely came from his drinking goblets, certain medical treatments of the time that were rich in lead, and his heavy drinking of wine. Lead acetate was used to sweeten wine during the 19th century. Beethoven’s documented ailments — liver disease, gastrointestinal challenges, and hearing loss — are all consistent with lead poisoning symptoms.
Altogether, the recent genetic and mass spectrometry studies suggest that some of Beethoven’s health problems — particularly his recurring gastrointestinal complaints and jaundice — can be pinned on lead exposure.
An impressive biography
It is believed that Beethoven died from liver and kidney disease at age 56. Lead poisoning now appears to be the fourth factor that contributed to his liver failure. And this is apart from genes that predisposed Beethoven toward liver disease, his hepatitis B infection, and his penchant for drinking alcohol.
Despite his health struggles, Beethoven managed to compose virtuosic music, perhaps even drawing emotional depth from his suffering. This discovery not only sheds light on the composer’s personal agony but also highlights the pervasive danger of lead exposure, which remains a global health issue.
“When you look back at his life, it’s a life that is so full of despair. He went deaf. He never found a woman that he could settle down to love. He had terrible abdominal problems ever since he was a child. He really had a hard time sustaining relationships with people,” William Meredith, Beethoven scholar and study coauthor of the 2023 genomic analysis and the latest study, told CNN.
“If you understand how much pain he was in and the paranoia he experienced from the deafness, it makes that whole story of the Ninth Symphony much more complex.”
The new findings appeared in the journal Clinical Chemistry.
