May 7, 1824 an evening of music in Vienna. The city’s elite and the elderly are present at the Royal Court Theater. Everyone here is looking forward to a very special occasion and this was the premiere of Ludwig van Beethoven’s ninth symphony which is still regarded as the finest musical occasion in the world.
However, the expectations of the people there were very high, Beethoven had not made a new symphony for a long time. Beethoven had not been seen on stage for the past 12 years, but he had finally made his way back. The veteran musician took the stage from the podium with his largest orchestra. It was a concert that had never happened before and could not have happened later.
The form of the symphony was changed for the first time to include the human voice. In the presence of a massive audience, Beethoven magically advanced the music. His body was trembling, his hands were swaying as if they were dancing in the air.
He was so engrossed in the music that his hands were swaying even when the show was over. Caroline Unger, the lone female singer in his group, brought him in front of the audience to receive a standing ovation. In fact, Beethoven was completely deaf by then.
That memorable night
Many people have written about this unique event. Laura Tunbridge, a professor of music at Oxford University and author of the recently published biography “Beethoven: A Life in Nine Pieces” says, the co-music director was handling the matter because by then people knew Beethoven longer plays the orchestra.
According to Laura Tunbridge, “people applauded his enchanted symphony because they wanted to hear it again.” It could have been a chaotic evening. The composer of the program was deaf, the presentation was longer and more difficult than the usual presentation and the special thing was that the composer did not do much rehearsal for it. “Surprisingly, it was great, despite the lack of preparation,” said Professor Tunbridge.
Music is an art, not a pastime
In a way, it was a moment that reflected both the success and depression of Beethoven’s life. He was born 250 years ago in Bonn, Germany. Although it is not possible to confirm when he was born, according to some, he was born on December 16, but according to documents, he was born on December 17, 1770.
He later became a composer of highly imaginative, passionate and intricate melodies that reflect his complex and contradictory personality. When he was going through the era of becoming a musician, it was the period of Napoleon and politically Europe was going through a period of turmoil.
Although Beethoven was born in Germany, he was adopted by a well-known family of musicians in Vienna. He arrived in the city where famous musical names such as the Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Joseph Hayden, Franz Schubert and Antonio Vivaldi came from.
“Beethoven revolutionized music, especially in terms of sound and volume,” said Professor Tunbridge. He believed that music could also express thoughts and feelings. He also believed that music was not pure entertainment but a deep feeling.
According to Tunbridge, Beethoven played a key role in shaping music. At the same time, however, his personality was of an angry, selfish, and uninterested in meeting people, stubborn, romantically frustrated, stingy, and addicted to alcohol. “It’s part of the Beethoven romance fiction,” said Professor Tunbridge. He became known as an experienced artist who devoted his entire life to art, with the ability to create music beyond our imagination and that is what makes him extraordinary.
The effects of poor health
Beethoven was known as a hard-working musician, but from a neutral point of view, he was plagued by lifelong health problems and sometimes went through difficult treatment.
Modern health experts have also tried to find out what health problems Beethoven had and how his illness was related to his deafness. Not only that, but experts have also researched how his illnesses affected his personality and the world of music.
British neurosurgeon Henry Marsh has compiled a detailed list of Beethoven’s illnesses shown in the BBC World Service documentary ‘Dissecting Beethoven’. According to him, the great musician was suffering from intestinal and stomach ailments, his intestines were swollen, his digestion was not good, he was suffering from hand disease and depression and also had issues with the nervous system.
Beethoven died on March 27, 1827. He was autopsied by the then famous physician Johannes Wagner. According to the investigation, Beethoven had a swollen abdomen and a wound in the liver which was only a quarter of the length of any normal liver, which is a sign of cirrhosis caused by excessive consumption of alcohol.
Many in Beethoven’s family drank, as did his grandmother and father. According to Professor Tunbridge, Beethoven drank regularly, even at social events without water.
William Meredith, a researcher at the Center for Beethoven Studies at the University of California, San Jones, estimates that Beethoven’s body was poisoned by alcohol. They chemically analyzed Beethoven’s hair and concluded that it contained lead.
Wine merchants keep grape juice in fermented barrels to make it taste sweet and syrupy, but it does a lot of harm to drinkers. This leads to toxic amounts of lead in the body, which damages the body’s nervous system. Although Beethoven was suffering, he would carry himself in a way that nobody could sense that he was ill.
How Beethoven became deaf
Dr. Wagner saw during Beethoven’s autopsy that his hearing was completely impaired, and he reported it. William Meredith says that Beethoven’s deafness could be related to his digestion because the two problems started at the same time. “Beethoven also complained of fever and headaches, and this went on for a lifetime.”
According to Dr. Philip McAwick of the University Of Maryland School Of Medicine, the negative effects of congenital syphilis may also have affected Beethoven’s hearing. Syphilis spread from the American continent to Europe and spread to thousands of Europeans. Due to this disease, the situation in Europe got out of control and a large population was affected.
According to Dr. McKay, Beethoven was deaf due to digestive problems, but neurosurgeon Henry Marsh believes that no evidence has yet been found of a link between the two diseases, which is just speculation.
Deafness
Between 1797 and 1798, Beethoven had difficulty hearing. He left Vienna in 1802 on the advice of doctors. He moved to the neighboring town of Heiligenstadt in search of peace. From here he wrote a letter to his brothers, also known as the ‘Heiligenstadt Will’. In the letter, he writes about the growing thoughts in his mind about suicide and the need to stay away from other people. “… Six years ago I was suffering from a serious illness that has been exacerbated by incompetent doctors,” Beethoven wrote.
He wrote in the letter about how his ego was holding him back, how deafness had exacerbated his problems and what effect it had had on his unstable behavior. “I must stay out of society,” Beethoven wrote. It hurts a lot when I go out with people, people start noticing my situation. ‘
Despite his deafness, Beethoven continued to live with his art. Beethoven wrote letters to his brothers but did not send them. The letter was found in his documents after his death.
A very passionate paragraph of his writing begins like this: ‘Ah! How can I accept my weakness when I am reaching such a high level, a stage very few musicians can hope of reaching’.
Beethoven initially wrote that his hearing was impaired, but over time he wrote that he could no longer hear completely. Professor Tunbridge said: “There are reports that he could not hear at all and that is why he started speaking so loudly but there is no information about his condition.”
Although it is known that until 1818 it was very difficult for him to understand what other people were saying, so he would ask people questions in writing and then give their answers in writing. However, in the last days of his life, according to some stories, he recognized some voices like he used to get surprised when people screamed.
Beethoven’s music
At first Beethoven was frustrated with not being able to get married, but later he was frustrated with not being able to hear anything, but he kept composing music. Rather, it was during this time that he made the best, most experimental music of his life.
According to Professor Tunbridge, in his will, Beethoven decided that life was precious, so he would have to continue making music because only music could save him. Beethoven played piano that was unrivaled. He continued to make music through the piano, using a variety of instruments to create different sound effects.
But Beethoven’s best tool was his own brain. “It’s important to keep in mind that musicians rely on their imagination,” said Professor Tunbridge. They listen to their mind and Beethoven has been composing music since he was a child. “He could not hear the outside world, but there is no reason to believe that his brain lost the ability to listen to music or that his ability to make music had diminished.”
Power and happiness
Beethoven was unable to listen to the music he composed. These difficulties only improved Beethoven’s art. He began to add new energy and physical gestures to his music that had never happened before. In fact, many modern analysts believe that deafness has helped improve Beethoven’s musical abilities in many ways.
“If you don’t listen properly, then you have to rely on the energy of the musicians to make your music,” says, British musician Richard. Iris himself is deaf, and he wrote on Beethoven: “Beethoven relied on music to overcome his deafness. His music has become much clearer in a better way.” “That’s what Beethoven asked his musicians,” says Iris. They must have seen his body language and his energy at the concert. The effect was that Beethoven’s music achieved the quality of plastering. Unexpectedly, he began to search for new ways to release his heart and create thrilling music, as in the ninth symphony.
Humanity and hope
From an early age, Beethoven sought to incorporate German poet Friedrich Schiller’s poetry into music and eventually incorporated it into the Ninth Symphony.
According to Professor Tunbridge, “there is a lot of evidence that he was ill and controversial, but Beethoven was much more than that.” There was another aspect of his personality that was friendly and humorous. There are many examples of this which show his human characteristics.
According to Tunbridge, Beethoven may have composed the music for “Ode to Joy” during his most difficult moments, as he would have had some hope for the future which reflected these sentiments in later works.
“The idea of brotherhood and fraternity in poetry was the ideal that Beethoven expected in politics and society at large,” said Professor Tunbridge. “Beethoven remained hopeful until the end of his life. This is an aspect that cannot be ignored,” Tinbridge added.
