Our Golden Rule

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Email: harryamon@chello.at

Book: http://amonharry.blogspot.com/

 

 

   I don’t have the cheek to believe in a god. I am an agnostic (a not-knower),* but the rule I try to live my life by is the Golden Rule; i.e. I try to treat others as I would like to be treated – and I would always like to be treated well.

 

In the Human Jungle of violence, corruption and greed, however, I fail every day trying.

The honest one all too often gets a raw deal…

People are treated as a means to an end…

Kindness is regarded as weakness…

 

I myself have only so much time, only so much money, only so much energy…

I select my goals; I set priorities…

I am sometimes a little violent, a little corrupt, a little greedy…

Imperfect as I am, I try to live by this rule of which there are many versions:

  

“Do for one who may do for you, that you may cause him thus to do.”

(Ancient Egyptian, The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant 109 – 110)

  

“Avoid doing what you would blame others for doing.”

(Thales of Miletus) 

 

“Whatever is disagreeable to yourself do not do unto others.”

(Zoroaster, Shayast-na-Shayast 13.29)

 

“One should treat all beings as one would like to be treated.”

(Jainism, Vardhamana Mahavira, Sutrakritanga 1.10.13)

 

“Treat not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.”

(Buddha, Udana-Varga 5.18)

 

“Do not do to others what you would not have them do unto you.”

(The Conversations of Confucius 15.23)

 

“… thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself…”

(OT, Leviticus 19:18)

 

“Regard your neighbor’s gain as your gain, and your neighbor’s loss as your loss.”

(Taoism, T’ai-shang Kang-ying P’ien 213-218)

 

“… do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you.”

(Brahmanism and Hinduism, Mahabharata 5:1517)

 

“Whatever thou hatest thyself, that do not to others.”

(Rabbi Hillel, Talmud, Shabbat 31a)

 

“Treat your inferiors as you would be treated by your superiors.”

(Seneca, Epistle 47:11)

 

“All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them…”

(NT, Matthew 7:12)

 

“None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.”

(Muhammad the Prophet, Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi 13)

 

“Be charitable to all beings…”

(Shintôism, Kojiki by Ô no Yasumaro)

 

“I am a stranger to no one, and no one is a stranger to me. Indeed, I am a friend to all.”

(Sikh, Guru Grath Sahib p. 1299)

 

“Lay not on any soul a load, which ye would not wish to be laid upon you…”

(Bahá’i, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u'lláh 66:8)

 

“… don’t do things you wouldn’t want to have done to you.”

(British Humanist Association, 1999)

 

* Unlike the self-styled atheist who denies the existence of trans-empirical realities, the agnostic takes the view that the existence of gods, respectively a God, is neither provable nor refutable. A strong agnostic would say: “I can’t know, and neither can you.”

 

What I believe in?

I believe that everyone can believe whatever they want – as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone.

What hurts is hypocrisy, mendacity, sanctimony, bigotry, fanatism…

 

Copyright © 2008 Harry Amon. All Rights Reserved – worldwide.

Beethovens Bleivergiftung

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Von Harry Amon

ISBN 978-3-9502548-5-3

E-Mail: harryamon@chello.at

Buch: http://harryamon.blogspot.com/

 

   Ludwig van Beethoven starb im Alter von 56 Jahren in Wien am Montag den 26. März 1827 um etwa 17:45 Uhr.

Im Totenschein ist „Wassersucht“ als Todesursache vermerkt. Am Morgen des 27. März wurde eine Obduktion vorgenommen. Das Protokoll dokumentiert u. a. eine massive Bauchwassersucht, das Vollbild einer Leberzirrhose und – nachdem der Kopf aufgesägt wurde – die Entnahme der Innenohren. Diese blieben ohne Befund und gingen leider schon nach wenigen Jahren verloren …

Beethovens Leichnam blieb drei Tage lang aufgebart, und unter denen, die ihn sehen durften, war ein 15jähriger Musikschüler, der dem Meister eine Haarlocke abschnitt, die heute vier Mitgliedern der American Beethoven Society gehört.¹

Beethovens Grab auf dem Währinger Friedhof wurde dann zweimal geöffnet: 1863, als man ihn umbettete, und 1888, als man seine Überreste ins Ehrengrab auf den Wiener Zentralfriedhof transferierte. Beim ersten Mal fand man den Schädel in neun Teile zerfallen, die erst wieder zusammengesetzt werden mussten, ehe eine Replik des Schädels angefertigt werden konnte. Ein Medizinhistoriker, der an dieser Prozedur beteiligt war, gelangte dabei auf unbekannte Weise an zwei Schädelfragmente, die sich jetzt im Besitz seiner Nachkommen in Amerika befinden.

2005 konnte die molekularbiologische Analyse des größeren Schädelfragments ein mit den Haaren übereinstimmendes DNA-Muster beweisen, da einige Haare Wurzeln tragen.

In den Haaren hatte man bereits 1996 eine um das 80fach erhöhte Bleibelastung festgestellt, und die Untersuchung eines Knochens mit sehr starken Röntgenstrahlen (2005) ergab, dass bei Beethoven schon in seinen frühen 20ern erhöhte Bleiwerte auftraten, die ihn sein Leben lang belastet haben.²

2007 wurden am Institut für Analytische Chemie der Wiener Universität für Bodenkultur drei Haare einer genaueren Untersuchung unterzogen: Zwei Haare (4 cm und 9,3 cm mit Wurzeln) aus der Locke in Amerika und ein 15 cm langes Haar der Beethoven-Gedenkstätte in Wien-Jedlesee. Das Gewebe wurde mit einem mikroskopisch dünnen Laserstrahls Millimeter für Millimeter verdampft und der Rauch in einen Massenspektrographen analysiert. Dabei stellte sich heraus, dass die Haare nicht gleichmäßig mit Blei beladen sind: Vom ~425. bis zum ~360. Tag zeigt sich keinerlei Bleibelastung; im Zeitraum zwischen dem ~360. und dem ~200. Tag gibt es immer wieder einzelne Abschnitte mit Blei, dann wieder ca. 60 unbelastete Tage, und schließlich in den letzten ~111 Tage vor Beethovens Tod mehreren exzessive Bleibelastungen. Daneben fanden sich weder Spuren von Cadmium oder Quecksilber noch Rückstände von Opium oder anderen Schmerzmitteln, die Beethoven sein qualvolles Ende erleichtert hätten (wie schon die amerikanischen Tests erwiesen haben).

Nach Ansicht der Forscher steht damit fest, dass Beethoven nicht an Syphilis litt, die damals noch mit quecksilberhaltigen Salben behandelt wurde.

Über die Herkunft des Bleis in seinen Knochen indes kann man nur spekulieren. Es könnte sein, dass Beethoven eine Stoffwechselstörung hatte; d.h. er war nicht großen Überdosen von Blei ausgesetzt; er hatte eine Konstitution, die ihn daran hinderte, das Blei im Körper abzubauen – und Gelegenheiten, sich zu vergiften, hatte er dann viele: es gab Trinkbecher aus Zinn, die mit Blei verunreinigt waren; es gab bleiernen Flaschenverschlüsse und bleihaltige Medikamente – und Wein, der mit Bleizucker [Blei(II)-acetat] gesüßt wurde.

Blei muss jedoch nicht die einzige Ursache für Beethovens Krankheiten gewesen sein, an denen er von jungen Jahren an gelitten hat. Seine Bauchbeschwerden und Stimmungsschwankungen sind Symptome, die zu einer Bleivergiftung passen. Aber bei schweren Bleivergiftungen treten auch motorische Störungen in den Gliedmaßen auf (was beim Klaviervirtuosen Beethoven nicht der Fall war), während ein Gehörverlust nur sehr selten zu beobachtet ist.

Beethovens Taubheit könnte eher als Folge einer unausgeheilten Mittelohrentzündung erklärt werden, oder als Labyrintherkrankung, die ihren Ursprung im Gehirn hatte.³

Die Ursache seiner Leberzirrhose – die durch seinen Alkoholkonsum natürlich begünstigt wurde – war vermutlich die Hepatitis, die er sich 1821 zugezogen und nie ganz ausgeheilt hatte …

Stocktaub und an Leib und Seele geschwächt, trat also Beethoven seine letzten ~111 Tage an: Anfang Dezember 1826 erkrankte er an einer Lungenentzündung, die der Arzt allem Anschein nach mit schleimlösenden Bleisalzen behandelte. (In den Aufzeichnungen des Arztes heißt es nur, er habe bei Beethoven ein „streng entzündungswidriges Heilverfahren“ angewendet.) Als Nebenwirkung trat eine gewaltige Bauchwassersucht auf, sodass der Patient „kaum mehr atmen konnte“. Folglich musste man diese (11, 5 Liter)⁴ entleeren, indem man den Bauch punktierte – was sehr riskant war, weil es zu einer Bauchfellentzündung kommen konnte, die damals unweigerlich zum Tod führte. Zwischen dem 20. Dezember und dem 27. Februar musste ganze vier Mal punktiert werden, und verklebt wurden die Punktierungen mit Bleiseife, die desinfizierend wirkt.

Am Nachmittag des 24. März fiel Beethoven in ein Koma, und zwei Tage später war er tot.

Vergleicht man nun die Bleikonzentration im Haar mit Beethovens Krankengeschichte, zeigt sich, dass immer dann, wenn eine Punktion erfolgte, im Haar ein massiver Anstieg der Bleikonzentration auftrat, und dasselbe gilt für die Zeit, als der Arzt die Lungenentzündung behandelte.

Für Beethovens zirrhotische Leber war das bald zuviel …

Ergo: „Der Arzt Dr. Andreas Ignaz Wawruch (1782-1859) hat nach bestem Wissen und Gewissen, wie es dem Stand der Medizin entsprach, Beethoven zu Tode gebracht.“ (Diagnose: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Christian Reiter, Leiter des Instituts für Gerichtliche Medizin der Medizinischen Universität Wien.)⁵

 

Brillant, Herr Professor! Aber „nach bestem Wissen und Gewissen“ – das kann man so nicht stehen lassen.

Dr. Wawruch war nicht Beethovens Hausarzt; Dr. Wawruch wurde gerufen, nachdem zwei andere Ärzte sich geweigert hatten zu kommen. Beethoven hatte eine ganze Reihe von Ärzten vor den Kopf gestoßen, und in höchster Not, lieferte er sich diesem Dr. Wawruch aus, der seinen Zustand so beschreibt: „Ich traf B. mit den bedenklichen Symptomen einer Lungenentzündung behaftet an; sein Gesicht glühte, er spuckte Blut, die Respiration drohte mit Erstickungsgefahr und der schmerzhafte Seitenstich gestattete nur eine quälende Rückenlage.“

Was der Mann verschweigt, ist die Tatsache, das Beethovens Bauch schon zu diesem Zeitpunkt heftig angeschwollen war und Haut und Augen gelblich waren. Bei seinem ersten Besuch am 5. Dezember mag er das übersehen haben, aber laut Aufzeichnungen, hat er es bald bemerkt: „Die Leber bot deutliche Spuren von harten Knoten, die Gelbsucht stieg …“ (12. Dezember)

Dr. Wawruch kannte die Nebenwirkungen seiner Medizin, wie aus seinen Notizen hervorgeht. Er wusste, dass sie einer schwer kranken Leber zugemutet wurde. Aber er änderte trotzdem nicht die Therapie.

Beethovens Neffe Carl beschreibt Dr. Wawruch als „distanziert & gleichgültig“. Sein Onkel, berichtet er, habe Wawruch nicht gemocht und ihn bei einer Visite sogar „Arsch“ genannt.

Warum Beethoven sich nicht um einen anderen Arzt bemüht hat, ist leider nicht nachzuvollziehen …

Als sich dann in Form der Bauchwassersucht das bevorstehende Organversagen ankündigte, war jedenfalls der Zug abgefahren. Beethovens Bauch musste punktiert werden, und die Wunden dichtete man mit Bleiseifen ab. Schwermetalle wie Blei, Quecksilber oder Arsen vertraten damals die Antibiotika; die giftigen Nebenwirkungen wurden als das kleinere Übel im Vergleich zur Bauchfellentzündung angesehen – eine Alternative gab es nicht.

Doch die Lungenentzündung hätte ein anderer Arzt vielleicht mit pflanzlichen Heilmitteln behandelt …

Kurzum: Ludwig van Beethoven bekam die falsche Behandlung zur falschen Zeit vom falschen Doktor; d.h. Ludwig van Beethoven wurde von diesem „Arsch“ zu Tode gehetzt.

Ein Mordkomplott? Unsinn. Was Beethoven umgebracht hat war Dummheit, Heuchelei, Standesdünkel, Neid, Bosheit, Schadenfreude …

 

1 Künstler fertigten Skizzen von Beethovens Kopf sowie Gipsabdrücke seiner Hände und eine Totenmaske an. Zwei Künstler und einige der Hinterbliebenen schnitten ihm Haarlocken ab. Locken, die Beethoven zugeschrieben werden, befinden sich in der Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; in der University of Hartford, Connecticut; in der British Library, London; im Beethoven-Haus, Bonn; in der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, Wien …

2 Siehe die Webseite des Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies, San José State University, California, USA.

3 Von seinen späten 20er-Jahren an verschlechterte sich Beethovens Gehör mehr und mehr, und von 1818 an war er stocktaub.

4 Ein Baby kurz vor seiner Geburt – einschließlich Nabelschnur, Plazenta und Fruchtwasser – entspricht etwa 7 Litern.

5 Siehe Reiter Article im Internet oder The Beethoven Journal, vol. 22, no. 1, 2007. (American Beethoven Society). 

Skizze von Joseph Danhauser (28. März 1827).

 Copyright © 2008 Harry Amon. All Rights Reserved – worldwide.

Unsere Goldene Regel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

E-Mail: harryamon@chello.at

Buch: http://harryamon.blogspot.com/

 

 

   Ich besitze nicht die Frechheit, an einen Gott zu glauben. Ich bin ein Agnostiker (Nichtwisser),* aber die Regel, nach der ich mein Leben lebe, ist die Goldene Regel; d.h. ich versuche, andere so zu behandeln, wie ich selbst behandelt werden möchte – und ich möchte immer gut behandelt werden.

 

Im menschlichen Dschungel aus Gewalt, Korruption und Gier sind allerdings meine Versuche jeden Tag ungenügend.

Der Ehrliche ist allzu oft der Dumme …

Menschen werden als Mittel zum Zweck benutzt …

Freundlichkeit wird als Schwäche ausgelegt …

 

Ich selbst habe nur ein gewisses Maß an Zeit, Geld, Energie …

Ich wähle meine Ziele, ich setze Prioritäten …

Unvollkommen, wie ich bin, lebe ich nach dieser Regel, von der es viele Versionen gibt:

 

„Tu’ Gutes, auf dass dir Gutes getan werde!“

(Alt-Egyptisch: Die Geschichte vom wortgewaltigen Bauern 109-110)

 

„Vermeide, zu tun, was du anderen übel nimmst“

(Thales von Milet)

 

„Tue anderen nicht an, was dir schadet!“

(Zarathustra, Shayast-na-Shayast 13.29)

 

„Jeder sollte alle Lebewesen so behandeln, wie er selbst behandelt werden möchte!“

(Jainismus, Vardhamana Mahavira, Sutrakritanga 1.10.13)

 

„Füge deinen Nächsten nicht den Schmerz zu, der dich schmerzt!“

(Buddha, Udana-Varga 5.18)

 

„Tue anderen nichts, was du nicht möchtest, dass sie dir tun!“

(Gespräche des Konfuzius 15.23)

 

„… du sollst deinen Nächsten lieben wie dich selbst …“

(AT, 3. Buch Mose 19, 18)

 

„Betrachte den Gewinn deines Nachbarn als deinen Gewinn und seinen Verlust als deinen Verlust!“

(Taoistismus, T’ai-shang Kang-ying P’ien 213-218)

 

„… tue nichts, das dir Schmerzen verursachte, würde es dir getan!“

(Brahmanismus und Hinduismus, Mahabharata 5:1517)

 

„Was dir selbst verhasst ist, das tue nicht deinem Nächsten an!“

(Rabbi Hillel, Talmud, Shabbat 31a)

 

„Behandle deine Untergebenen so, wie du von deinen Vorgesetzten behandelt werden möchtest!“

(Seneca, Epistle 47:11)

 

„Alles, was ihr also von anderen erwartet, das tut auch ihnen …!“

(NT, Matthäus 7, 12)

 

„Keiner von euch ist ein Gläubiger, solange er nicht seinem Bruder wünscht, was er sich selbst wünscht!“

(Muhammad der Prophet, Vierzig Hadith von an-Nawawi 13)

 

„Sei wohltätig zu allen Wesen …!“

(Shintôismus, Kojiki von Ô no Yasumaro)

 

„Ich bin niemandem fremd, und niemand ist mir fremd. Ich bin allen ein Freund.“

(Sikhismus, Guru Grath Sahib, S. 1299)

 

„Lade keiner Seele Lasten auf, die du selbst nicht tragen möchtest …!“

(Bahá’i, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u'lláh 66:8)

 

„… tue nichts, was du nicht möchtest, dass man dir tun soll!“

(British Humanist Association, 1999)

 

* Anders als der selbsternannte Atheist, der die Existenz transempirischer Realitäten bestreitet, ist ein Agnostiker der Ansicht, dass die Existenz von Göttern, bzw. eines Gottes, weder beweisbar noch widerlegbar ist. Ein entschiedener Agnostiker sagt: „Ich kann nicht wissen, und Sie auch nicht.“

 

Woran ich glaube?

Ich glaube, dass jeder glauben kann, was er will – wenn’s niemandem weh tut. 

Was weh tut, ist Scheinheiligkeit, Verlogenheit, Frömmelei, Bigotterie, Fanatismus … 

 

Copyright © 2008 Harry Amon. All Rights Reserved – worldwide.

My Classical Music Collection

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Email: harryamon@chello.at

Book: http://amonharry.blogspot.com/

  

 

   It took me a lifetime to separate the wheat from the chaff…

I also own a pop music collection, of course; it mainly consists of oldies by The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana, Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Bob Marley plus some songs by young ladies like Christina Aguilera…

My true passion, however, is classical music — and I am a selective customer. I prefer certain works of certain composers, but I don’t listen to every movement, and sometimes I even cut passages of music out (the remaining time is given in brackets).

When it seems notable, the instrumentation or the performers are also given in brackets.

Some of the videos on You Tube worth seeing are given in bold type in square brackets.

Lully, Jean Baptiste- Marche pour la cérémonie des Turcs

Bach, Johann Sebastian – Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F major: I

- Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major: I

- Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor: I [YT: Glenn Gould; Brian Parks…]

- Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor: III

- Piano Concerto No. 5 in F minor: I [YT: Claudio Dauelsberg…]

- Piano Concerto No. 5 in F minor: II

- Piano Concerto No. 5 in F minor: III [YT: 10-year-old Yoon A In…] 

- Piano Concerto No. 7 in G minor: I

- Fragments of Anna Magdalena’s Notebook: Minuet in G major

- Goldberg Variations: Aria [YT: Glenn Gould; Daniel Barenboim…]

- Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring

- Little Fugue in G minor

- Ave Maria (Maria Callas)

- Oboe Concerto in F major

- Pachelbel’s Canon in D major (London Symphony Orchestra)

- Prelude & Fugue in C minor (piano solo)

- Prelude in C major (piano solo)

- Sonata for Flute, Harp & Cello in G minor: Allegro

- Adagio in C (Leopold Stokowski)

- Cello Suite No. 1 in G major: Prelude [YT: Yo-Yo Ma; Mstislaw Rostropovich…]

- Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor

- Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, “Air on the G String” [YT: Sarah Chang…]

- Air (Baby Einstein: Music Box Orchestra)

- Toccata & Fugue in D minor [YT: Karl Richter…]

- Violin Partita No. 3 in E major: Prelude

- Well-tempered Clavier, Book 1: Prelude

Beethoven, Ludwig van- Coriolan Overture [YT: Carlos Kleiber…]

- Egmont Overture [YT: Leonard Bernstein…]

- Fidelio Overture [YT: Nikolaus Harnoncourt…]

- Leonore Overture No. 3 [YT: Anthony Cofield…]

- Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major: I [YT: Herbert von Karajan…]

- Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major: II

- Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major: III

- Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major: IV

- Symphony No. 5 in C minor: I [YT: Karajan; Harnoncourt; Simon Rattle…]

- Symphony No. 5 in C minor: II

- Symphony No. 5 in C minor: III-IV

- Symphony No. 6 in F major: I [YT: Karajan…]

- Symphony No. 6 in F major: II

- Symphony No. 6 in F major: III-V

- Symphony No. 7 in A major: I [YT: Karajan…]

- Symphony No. 7 in A major: II

- Symphony No. 7 in A major: III

- Symphony No. 7 in A major: IV

- Symphony No. 8 in F major: I [YT: Karajan…]

- Symphony No. 8 in F major: II

- Symphony No. 8 in F major: III

- Symphony No. 8 in F major: IV

- Symphony No. 9 in D minor: I [YT: Karajan; Bernstein…]

- Symphony No. 9 in D minor: II

- Symphony No. 9 in D minor: III

- Symphony No. 9 in D minor: IV

- Romance for Violin and Orchestra No. 2 in F major

- Violin Concerto in D major: III [YT: Anne-Sophie Mutter; Joshua Bell…]

- For Elise

- Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor: II

- Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor: III

- Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major: II [YT: Van Cliburn; Glenn Gould…]

- Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor:I, “Pathetique” [YT: Freddy Kempf…]

- Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor: II

- Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor: III

- Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor: I, “Moonlight Sonata” [YT: Barenboim…]

- Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor: III

- Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor: I, “Tempest” [YT: Natasha Pikoul; Spencer Myer…]

- Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor: III

- Piano Sonata No. 18 in E-flat major: I, “The Hunt”

- Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor:I, “Appassionata” [YT: Valentina Lisitsa…]

Liszt, Franz – Piano Transcription of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major: I

- Piano Transcription of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major: II

- Piano Transcription of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major: III

- Piano Transcription of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major: IV

- Piano Transcription of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C minor: I

- Piano Transcription of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C minor: II

- Piano Transcription of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C minor: III-IV

- Piano Transcription of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 in F major: I

- Piano Transcription of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 in F major: II

- Piano Transcription of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 in F major: III-V

- Piano Transcription of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A major: I

- Piano Transcription of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A major: II

- Piano Transcription of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A major: III

- Piano Transcription of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A major: IV

- Piano Transcription of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8 in F major: I

- Piano Transcription of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8 in F major: II

- Piano Transcription of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8 in F major: III

- Piano Transcription of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8 in F major: IV

- Piano Transcription of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor: I

- Piano Transcription of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor: II

- Piano Transcription of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor: III

- Piano Transcription of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor: IV

Beethoven, Ludwig van- Pathetique (Baby Einstein: Music Box Orchestra)

- For Elise (Baby Einstein: Music Box Orchestra)

- 12 Variations on Mozart’s Magic Flute

- Eroica Variations [YT: Glenn Gould…]

Bizet, George – Carmen Suite No. 1 & 2 (12:50)

- Carmen: Habanera aria (Nana Mouskouri)

- Carmen: Toreador song [YT: Dmitri Hvorostovsky; Carlos Alvarez; Gino Bechi…]

Sarasate, Pablo de – Carmen Fantasy [YT: Gil Shaham and Berlin Philharmonics…]

Brahms, Johannes – Hungarian Dance No. 1 in G minor (violin & piano)  

- Hungarian Dance No. 5 in F-sharp minor (violin & piano) [YT: Maxim Vengerov; Joshua Bell; Yehudi Menuhin…]

- Hungarian Dance No. 1 in G minor (piano four hands) 

- Wiegenlied Op. 49, No. 4, “Lullaby” (Baby Einstein: Music Box Orchestra)

Orff, Carl - Carmina Burana (26:32)

Chopin, Frédéric – Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor: I [YT: Lang Lang; Yundi Li…]

- Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor: II

- Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor: III

- Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor: I

- Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor: II [YT: 10-year-old Yoon A In…] 

- Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor: III

- Etudes Op. 10, No. 3 in E major, “Tristesse” [YT: Valentina Igoshina…]

- Etudes Op. 10, No. 12 in C minor, “Revolutionary” [YT: Sviatoslav Richter…]

- Etudes Op. 25, No. 11 in A minor, “Storm” [YT: Rubinstein…]

- Etudes Op. 25, No. 12 in C minor

- Fantasie-Impromptu in C-sharp minor [YT: Valentina Igoshina…]

- Nocturne in C-sharp minor [YT: 4-year-old Hannah Hua…]

- Nocturne in E-flat major

- Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor: II (piano solo)

- Polonaise in A-flat major, “Heroic” [YT: Valentina Igoshina…]

- Prelude in D-flat major, “Raindrops” [YT: Valentina Igoshina…]

- Prelude in E minor

- Scherzo No. 2 in B-fat minor [YT: Krystian Zimerman; Yundi Li…]

- Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor: III, “Funeral March” [YT: Valentina Igoshina…]

Debussy, Claude- Claire de lune (piano solo)

- Preludes, Book 1: No. 8, “The Girl with the Flaxen Hair” (piano solo)

- Preludes, Book 1: No. 8, “The Girl with the Flaxen Hair” (piano & violin)

- orchestral version of Saint-Saëns’ Swan

- orchestral version of Satie’s 3 Gymnopedies

- Preludes, Book 1: No. 8, “The Girl with the Flaxen Hair” (violin & orchestra)  

Chopin, Frédéric – Nocturne in C-sharp minor (violin & piano) [YT: Joshua Bell]

Schubert, Franz – Ave Maria (violin & piano) [YT: Joshua Bell]

Schumann, Robert- Kinderszenen Op. 15, No. 7, Dreaming (violin & orchestra)

Dvorák, Antonin- Humoreske Op. 101, Nr. 7 (violin & piano)

Vivaldi, Antonio – Cello Concerto in E minor: III

Bach, Johann Sebastian – Cello Suite No.1in G major: Prelude (Yo-Yo Ma)

- Air on the G String (Yo-Yo Ma)

Saint-Saëns, Camille – The Swan (Yo-Yo Ma)

Paganini, Niccolò – Caprice No. 24 in A minor (Yo-Yo Ma) [YT]

Tan Dun – soundtrack of the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (22:47)

John Corigliano – soundtrack of the movie The Red Violin (8:15)

Massenet, Jules – Meditation from Thais [YT: Maxim Vengerov; Marina Chiche…]

Kreisler, Fritz - Love Sorrow & Love Joy [YT: Joshua Bell]

Dukas, Paul – The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

Dvorák, Antonin – Symphony No. 8 in G major: I-IV (20:16)

- Symphony No. 9 in E minor: I [YT: Karajan…]

- Symphony No. 9 in E minor: II

- Symphony No. 9 in E minor: III

- Symphony No. 9 in E minor: IV

Gershwin, George – It Ain’t Necessarily So from Porgy and Bess (violin & piano)

- Summertime from Porgy and Bess (Charlie Parker) [YT]

- Rhapsody in Blue (Duke Ellington Orchestra)

- Summertime from Porgy and Bess (Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong) [YT]

Grieg, Edvard – Piano Concerto in A minor: I [YT:Pawel Mazurkiewicz…]

- Piano Concerto in A minor: II

- Piano Concerto in A minor: III

- Peer Gynt Suite No. 1: I, Morningmood

- Peer Gynt Suite No. 1: II, Aase’s Death

- Peer Gynt Suite No. 1: III, Anitra’s Dance

- Peer Gynt Suite No. 1: IV, In the Hall of the Mountain King

- Peer Gynt Suite No. 2: IV, Solveig’s Song

- In the Hall of the Mountain King (Baby Einstein: Music Box Orchestra)

Mancini, Henry – Pink Panther Theme (Hugo Montenegro Orchestra)

Gold, Ernest – Exodus (Maksim Mrvika) [YT]

Serra, Eric - Soundtrack of the movie Leon the Professional (22:55)

Handel, Georg Friedrich – Keyboard Suite No. 11 in D minor: Sarabande (Nat. Symph. Orch.)

Holst, Gustav – The Planets: Mars, the Bringer of War

Handel, Georg Friedrich - Sarabande-Duel from the movie Barry Lyndon (Nat. Symph. Orch.)

Prokofiev, Sergei- Romeo and Juliet, Act I, Scene II: Montagues and Capulets

Liszt, Franz - Dance of Death [YT: Totentanz - Joe Shippee; Enrico Pace…]

- Piano Transcription of Confutatis maledictis & Lacrimosa of Mozart’s Requiem

- Grande Paraphrase on a March by Guiseppe Donizetti

- Mephisto Waltz No. 1 in A major (piano solo) [YT: Ayako Uehara…]

- Grandes Etudes de Paganini, No. 3 in G-sharp minor, “La Campanella” [YT: Evgeny Kissin; Valentina Lisitsa…]

- Piano Sonata in B minor: I-IV

- Love Dream No. 3 in E-flat major [YT: Kissin…]

- Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C-sharp minor (piano solo) [YT: Maksim Mrvika; Lang Lang; Marc Andre Hamelin…]

- Hungarian Rhapsody No. 5 in E minor (piano solo)

- Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6 in D-flat major (piano solo)

- Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C-sharp minor (orchestra)

- Hungarian Rhapsody No. 5 in E minor (orchestra)

- Symphonic Poem No. 3 in C major,“Les Préludes”

- Mephisto Waltz No. 1 in A major (orchestra)

- Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major: I

- Hungarian Fantasy for Piano & Orchestra [YT: Cyprien Katsaris…]

- Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C-sharp minor (Baby Einstein: Music Box Orchestra)

London Symphony Orchestra – Exodus by Ernest Gold

- House of the Rising Sun, the classical American folk ballad

- Paint it Black by Sir Michael Jagger and Keith Richards

- Stairway to Heaven by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant [YT]

Armstrong, Louis - As Time Goes By [YT]

- Hallo Dolly [YT]

- Mac the Knife [YT]

- Moon River [YT]

- Summertime (with Billie Holiday) [YT]

- When You’re Smiling [YT]

- What a Wonderful World [YT]

Holiday, Billie - My Funny Valentine [YT]

Piaf, Edith - Exodus [YT]

Choquette, Nathalie – George Gershwin’s Summertime [YT: The Diva and the Maestro…]

- Jai pour toi un lac by Gilles Vigneault

- Habanera aria from Bizet’s Carmen (live at Night of the Proms 1999)

- Nessun dorma from Puccini’s Turandot (live at Night of the Proms 1999)

- Isabeau s’y promène, the classical French chanson

- Quando corpus marietur from Stabat Mater by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi

- Schéhérazade after Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Ma’ayani, Ami – Toccata (harp solo)

Mendelssohn, Felix – Violin Concerto in E minor: I (7:27) [YT: Janine Jansen; Sarah Chang…] 

Bach, Johann Sebastian- Arioso (cello & piano)

- Ave Maria (harp & violin)

- Little Fugue in G minor (trumpets)

- Prelude in C major (harpsichord solo)

Charpentier, Marc-Antoine- Te Deum

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus – Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor: I [YT: Mitsuko Uchida…]

- Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor: II  

- Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor: III  

- Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major: II [YT: Pablo Arencibia…]

- Piano Concerto No. 22 in E-flat major: II [YT: Ayako Uehara…]

- Piano Concerto No. 22 in E-flat major: III

- Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major: II [YT: Zoltán Kocsis…]

- Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major: III

- Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor: III [YT: André Previn…]

- Rondo for glass harmonica, flute, oboe, viola & cello in C minor

- Don Giovanni Overture (2:16) [YT: James Levine…]

- Don Giovanni: Vedrai, carino (Zerlina, Act II, Scene I)

- Figaro Overture [YT: Neville Marriner…]

- Figaro: Che soave zeffiretto (Susanna and Countess, Act III, Scene X)

- The Magic Flute Overture (2:58) [YT: Barenboim…]

- The Magic Flute: Bird Catcher aria (flute & oboe)

- The Magic Flute: The bird catcher am I (Papageno, Act I, Scene I)

- The Magic Flute: The vengeance of Hell (The Queen of the Night, Act II, Scene III)

- The Magic Flute: A girl or a woman (Papageno, Act II, Scene V)

- The Magic Flute: Papageno/Papagena duet (Act II, Scene IX)

- Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major: II (violin & orchestra)

- Symphony No. 40 in G minor: I [YT: Harnoncourt…]

- Requiem [YT: Karl Bohm…]

- Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major: I

- Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major: III, “Rondo alla turca”

- Piano Sonata No. 15 in F major: III (Baby Einstein: Music Box Orchestra)

- Piano Sonata No. 16 in C major: I

- Twelve Variations on “Ah vous dirai-je, Maman”

- Ah vous dirai-je, Maman (Baby Einstein: Music Box Orchestra)

Mussorgsky, Modest – Pictures at an Exhibition (piano solo) [YT: Evgeny Kissin; Serg van Gennip…]

- Khovanshchina, Entr’acte to Akt IV (Leopold Stokowski)

- A Night on Bald Mountain

Mussorgsky, Modest/Ravel, Maurice - Pictures at an Exhibition (orch.) [YT: Esa-Pekka Salonen…]

Handel, Georg Friedrich – Harp Concerto in B-flat major: Allegro

- Keyboard Suite No. 11 in D minor: Sarabande (harpsichord solo)

Monti, Vittorio- Czardas [YT: Maxim Vengerov and Contrabass Ensemble…]

Sarasate, Pablo de – Caprice Basque [YT: Maxim Vengerov full master class…]

- Carmen Fantasy [YT: Gil Shaham and Berlin Philharmonics…]

- Gypsy Airs [YT: Sarasate plays Sarasate Zigeunerweisen; Bojidara Kouzmanova; Sarah Chang; Rachel Barton; Xenia Akeynikova; 11-year-old Kristina Toroshchina; Andrew Wu; Itzhak Perlman; Yehudi Menuhin…]

- Habanera

- Magic Flute Fantasy (3:25)

- Malaguena Salerosa

- Romanza Andaluza (2:09)

- Spanish Dance No. 1 in C major

- Spanish Dance No. 5 in C major [YT: E. Granados]

- Tango, Por Una Cabeza

Paganini, Niccolò – Caprice No. 5 in A minor [YT: 10-year-old Tianwa Yeung…]

- Caprice No. 24 in A minor [YT: Jascha Heifetz; Mark Kaplan; Augustin Hadelich; Perlman; Menuhin…]

- Centone di sonate Op. 64, No. 2: Rondoncino

- Sonata for Violin & Guitar Op.3, No.6 in E minor

- Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major: II

- Violin Concerto No. 2 in B minor: III, “La Campanella”

- Violin Concerto No. 4 in D minor: III

Pavarotti, Luciano- Eduardo di Capua’s O sole mio

- E lucevan le stelle from Puccini’s Tosca

- Nessun dorma from Puccini’s Turandot

- Schubert’s Ave Maria

Verdi, Giuseppe- Nabucco: Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves

- Nabucco: Je chante avec toi liberté (Nana Mouskouri)

Rachmaninoff, Sergei – Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini in A minor (14:55)

- Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor: I (2:12) [YT:Valentina Lisitsa; Ami Cheng…]

- Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor: I (2:59) [YT: Evgeny Kissin…]

- Prelude in C-sharp minor  

- Prelude in G minor [YT: Vladimir Horowitz; Sviatoslav Richter…]

- The Isle of the Dead (11:12)

Ravel, Maurice – Bolero [YT: Karajan; Barenboim…]

- Tzigane Rhapsody (4:33) [YT: Joshua Bell; 12-year-old Gabrielle Chou…]

Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai – Bumblebee (Baby Einstein: Music Box Orchestra)

- Bumblebee (piano solo) [YT: Maksim Mrvika; 10-year-old Yoon A In; 8 pianos…] 

- Schéhérazade (35:38)

Saint-Saëns, Camille – Carnival of the Animals (8:58)

- Danse Macabre

- Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso for Violin & Orchestra [YT: Isaac Stern; Anne Akiko Meyers;Heifetz; Perlman…]

Satie, Erik- 3 Gymnopedies (piano solo)

- Gnossienne No. 1 (piano solo)

- Gymnopedie No. 1 (Baby Einstein: Music Box Orchestra)

- Gymnopedie No. 1 (harp solo)

Scarlatti, Domenico – Sonata for Harp in C minor

- Sonata for Harp in G major

Schubert, Franz- Ave Maria (Barbara Bonney)

- Impromtus Op. 90, No 2 in E-flat major [YT: Krystian Zimerman; 11-year-old Gabrielle Chou...]

- Impromtus Op. 90, No 3 in G-flat major [YT: Zimerman…]

- Impromtus Op. 90, No 4 in A-flat major [YT: Zimerman; Rubinstein…]

- Piano Trio in E-flat major: II

- Symphony No. 8 in B minor: I

- Symphony No. 8 in B minor: II

- Kinderszenen Op. 15, No. 7, Dreaming (cello & piano)

Shostakovich, Dimitri – Suite No. 2 for Varieté Orchestra, Waltz 2

Sibelius, Jean- Valse Triste

Smetana, Bedrich- The Moldau (9:55)

Stokowski, Leopold – Bach’s Toccata & Fugue in D minor [YT]

- Bach’s Adagio in C

- Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, Air

- Bach’s Little Fugue in G minor

- Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata in C-sharp minor: I

- Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor: III, “Funeral March”

- Chopin’s Prelude in E minor

- Debussy’s Girl with the Flaxen Hair

- Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition

- Mussorgsky’s Entr’acte to Akt IV of Khovanshchina

- Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C-sharp minor

- Wagner’s Prelude of Tristan and Isolde

Strauss, Johann Jr. – Blue Danube Waltz [YT: Karajan…]

- Emperor Waltz

Strauss, Richard – Introduction of Thus Spoke Zarathustra

Stravinsky, Igor- The Firebird: II [YT: Stravinsky; Claudio Abbado…]

- The Rite of Spring: I [YT: Bernstein; Esa-Pekka Salonen; Valery Gergiev…]

- The Rite of Spring: II

- The Rite of Spring: I, II (four hands on one piano)

Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich – Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor: I [YT: Lang Lang…]

- Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor: II

- Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor: III

- Symphony No. 5 in E minor: I [YT: Bernstein; Karajan…]

- Symphony No. 5 in E minor: II

- Symphony No. 5 in E minor: III

- Symphony No. 5 in E minor: IV

- III (I can do without that horrible noise.)

- Symphony No. 6 in B minor: I [YT: Bernstein; Karajan…]

- Symphony No. 6 in B minor: II

- Symphony No. 6 in B minor: IV

- The Nutcracker Suite (23:12) [YT]

- The Swan Lake Suite (15:19) [YT]

- Dance of the Flowers (Baby Einstein: Music Box Orchestra)

- Dance of the Swans (Baby Einstein: Music Box Orchestra)

- The Nutcracker for piano four hands (12:54)

- The Swan Lake for piano four hands (22:35)

Albinoni, Tomaso – Adagio in G minor (orchestra)

Sean Ó Riada – Women of Ireland from the movie Barry Lyndon (The Cheiftains)

Traditional – Irish Greensleeves (two harps & glass harmonica)

Mae, Vanessa - Carmen Fantasy by Franz Waxman

- Giuseppe Tartini’s Violin Sonata in G minor: I-III, “Devil’s Trill Sonata”

- Bach’s Toccata & Fugue in D minor [YT: Toccata & Fugue on her Guadagnini; Toccata & Fugue on electric violin; Devil’s Trill; Storm; Art of War; Sabre Dance…]

- Katschaturian’s Sabre Dance

- Storm

- Pasha

- Firefly

- Cancan

- Art of War

- Moroccan Roll

- Tango de los Exilados

- Henry Mancini’s Pink Panther Theme

- Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee

- Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major: II

- Violin Fantasy on Puccini’s Turandot

- Tchaikovsky’s Russian Dance

Vivaldi, Antonio – The Four Seasons: I

- The Four Seasons: II

- The Four Seasons: III

- The Four Seasons: IV

Wagner, Richard – Overture to The Flying Dutchman [YT: David Bruchez-Lalli…]

- Ride of the Valkyries [You Tube: Toscanini…]

- Siegfried’s Death & The Funeral March [YT: Klaus Tennstedt…]

- Tannhauser Overture [You Tube: Karajan…]

- Tristan und Isolde: Prelude & Death [YT: Rattle; Barenboim…]

Vienna Boys’ Choir- Confutatis maledictis & Lacrimosa from Mozart’s Requiem  

- In Dulci Jubilo [YT: Agnus Dei…]

 

I ripped the CDs withWindows Media Player as WMA lossless (470 to 940 kbit/s), and then I re-mastered the files with an audio editor (Noise Reduction, Adjust Volume…) before saving them as WMA 128 kbit/s.

With Mix/Paste in the audio editing, you can create your own Symphony Nr. 8 (Dvorak), your own Schéhérazade(Rimsky-Korsakov), etc.

My all-time favorite is Beethoven’s 6th Symphony. I listen to it at least once a week, and meanwhile I’ve heard it more than a thousand times — in the Himalayas, in the Sahara desert, on some of the best beaches in the world, on top of the Great Pyramid, in the Vienna Forest, following Beethoven’s tracks through the city… In chapter 18 of my book One & All, I try to ascertain the meaning behind this symphony (http://amonharry.blogspot.com/), and here, you’ll find my article Beethoven’s Lead Poisoning.

I would incidentally call it a real cultural scandal that Franz Liszt’s Piano Transcriptions of the Nine Beethoven Symphonies are not yet ranked amongst the greatest achievements in the history of music; most of the so-called music lovers and Beethoven fans don’t even know about the existence of these wonderful works…

 

Another piece of music close to my heart is the Carmen Fantasy by Pablo de Sarasate, and I am really enthusiastic about Gil Shaham’s mind-blowing performance of it [YT].

 

When it comes to beauty and grace in company of skill, my number one is Vanessa Mae playing Bach’s Toccata & Fugue in D minor on her Guadagnini [YT]. 

 

Another bright star in my sky is Valentina Igoshina playing Chopin… [YT]

 

Copyright © 2008 Harry Amon. All Rights Reserved – worldwide.

Beethoven’s Lead Poisoning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Harry Amon

ISBN 978-3-9502548-4-6

Email: harryamon@chello.at

Book: http://amonharry.blogspot.com/

 

   Around 5:45 p.m. on Monday, March 26, 1827, Ludwig van Beethoven died at the age of 56 in Vienna.

The death certificate records the cause of death as “dropsy.“ On the morning of March 27, a private autopsy was performed. The protocol lists,among other things, a massive oedema of the abdomen, a fully developed cirrhosis of the liver and — after the head had been sawn open — the removal of the inner ears. These remained undiagnosed and soon got lost forever…

Beethoven’s corpse was laid out for three days, and amongst those who were allowed to see it was a fifteen-year-old student of music, who snipped a lock of the master’s hair, which belongs to four members of the American Beethoven Society today. 1

Beethoven’s grave at the Wahringer cemetery was then dug up twice — the first time in 1863 when he was reburied, and a second time in 1888 when his remains were transferred to his honorary grave at the central cemetery of Vienna. On the occasion of the first exhumation, the skull was found in nine fragments that had to be reassembled first before a replica of the skull could be made. A professor for history of medicine, who took part in this procedure, somehow came into possession of two skull fragments, which are now owned by his descendants in the USA.

In 2005, the hair and skull samples could be matched by DNA tests as some of the hairs have roots.

Already in 1996, tests showed the hair to contain approximately 80 times the normal concentration of lead, and the examination with very powerful x-ray beams of a skull sample in 2005 provided solid evidence that Beethoven suffered from a toxic overload of lead since his early twenties. 2

In 2007, the Department of Analytical Chemistry of the University of Natural Resources in Vienna examined three of Beethoven’s hairs more closely: two hairs (1.57 in. and 3.66 in. with roots) from the USA and one 5.9 in. long hair from the Beethoven memorial in Vienna-Jedlesse. The tissue was exposed to a microscopically thin laser beam to vaporize it, and the smoke was then analyzed with a mass spectrograph. As it turned out, the lead in the hairs is not uniformly distributed: There is no contamination with lead at all from the ~425th until the ~360th day; in the period between the ~360th and the ~200th day there are several sections with lead; then again there are approx. 60 days with no traces of lead — and finally in the last ~111 days before Beethoven’s death there are many excessive concentrations of lead.

Besides that there are no traces of cadmium nor mercury nor of painkillers like opium, which could have eased Beethoven’s distressful end — as the tests in the USA already have shown.

From the researcher’s point of view, this determines that Beethoven did not suffer from syphilis, usually treated with mercury compounds in those days.

Regarding the origin of the lead in his bones, however, one can only speculate. It could have been that Beethoven had a metabolic disorder; i.e. he may not have had an unusual exposure to lead; he may have had a medical condition that prevented him from excreting the lead — and then he had many opportunities to poison himself: there were drinking cups made of tin contaminated with lead; there were leaden bottle caps and lead-containing medicines — and wine sweetened with sugar of lead [lead(II) acetate].

However, lead wasn’t necessarily the only reason for Beethoven’s life-long diseases. His abdominal ailments and mood swings are symptoms that match those of lead poisoning, but in cases of severe lead poisoning a loss of hearing 3 is only rarely documented, whereas motor dysfunctions of the extremities commonly occur – which was not the case at Beethoven, the piano virtuoso.

Beethoven’s deafness could rather be explained as an unhealed inflammation of the middle ear, or as a labyrinth disease, which had its origin in the brain.

The reason for his cirrhosis of the liver — that naturally had been availed by his alcohol consumption — was presumably his hepatitis, which he had contracted in 1821 and never completely recovered from…

Stone-deaf and weakened in body and soul, Beethoven launched into his last ~111 days: At the beginning of December 1826 he came down with severe pneumonia, which the physician apparently treated with lead salts that have an expectorant effect. (The physician’s medical notes give no details of this “infection dissolving medication”.) A massive accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity developed as a side effect, with the result that the patient could “hardly breathe”. Consequently, the abdomen had to be perforated in order to drain the fluid (24.3 pints) 4 – which was very risky as it could cause peritonitis that was invariably fatal in those days. Between December 20 and February 27, as many as four punctures had to be performed, and the wounds were then sealed with a lead-laced poultice to prevent infection.

In the afternoon of March 24, Beethoven fell into a coma, and two days later he was dead.

Now, by comparing the peaks in the hair’s lead concentration to Beethoven’s medical history, the chemical analysis indicates that there was a massive increase of the lead concentration in Beethoven’s hair when the physician started to treat the pneumonia and every time when a puncture was performed.

For Beethoven’s cirrhotic liver, this was soon too much…

Ergo: “The physician Dr. Andreas Ignaz Wawruch (1782-1859), acting according to his best knowledge and conscience and according to the contemporary state of medicine, had caused Beethoven’s death.” (Diagnosis: Univ.-Prof. Dr. ChristianReiter, head of the Department of Forensic Medicine at Vienna’s Medical University.) 5

 

Brilliant, Professor! But „according to his best knowledge and conscience“ — that can’t be left as it is.

Dr. Wawruch wasn’t Beethoven’s general practitioner; Dr. Wawruch was called after two other physicians had refused to come. Beethoven had alienated numerous doctors and, in the hour of need, he put himself at the mercy of this Dr.Wawruch, who describes his condition as follows: “I found B. afflicted with serious symptoms of inflammation of the lungs; his face glowed, he spat blood, his breathing threatened to choke him and a painful stitch in his side made lying on his back painful.”

What the man doesn’t mention is the fact that Beethoven’s abdomen was severely swollen and his skin and his eyes were jaundiced yellow even at this stage. During his first visit on December 5, Dr. Wawruch may have overlooked this fact, but according to his records, he soon noticed it: “The liver showed clear signs of hard lumps; jaundice increased…” (December 12)

Dr. Wawruch knew about the side effects of his medicine as his records indicate. He was aware that it was attacking an already diseased liver, but he wouldn’t change the treatment.

Beethoven’s nephew Carl describes Dr. Wawruch as „aloof & unconcerned.” His uncle, he reports, disliked Wawruch and during a home visit even called him “ass.”

Sadly, one will never know why Beethoven didn’t ask for another physician…

When the abdominal dropsy heralded the impending failure of the organ, it was too late in any case. Beethoven’s abdomen had to be punctured and the wounds sealed with a lead-laced poultice. Heavy metals such as lead, mercury or arsenic took the place of antibiotics; their toxic side effects were seen as a lesser evil when compared to peritonitis — there was no alternative in those days.

Yet, another doctor may well have treated Beethoven’s pneumonia with common herbal remedies…

In short: Ludwig van Beethoven received the wrong remedy at the wrong time from the wrong doctor; i.e. Ludwig van Beethoven was hastened to his end by this „ass.“ 

A murder conspiracy? Nonsense. What killed Beethoven were stupidity, hypocrisy, class conceit, envy, maliciousness, pleasure in the discomfort of others…                                                      

 

1 Artist made sketches of Beethoven’s head as well as plaster casts of his hands and a death mask. Two artists and several dependants cut hair from his head. Locks of hair attributed to Beethoven are located in the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; the University of Hartford, Connecticut; the British Library, London; the Beethoven-Haus, Bonn; the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, Vienna…

2 See the website of the Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies, San José State University, California, USA.

3 Beethoven’s hearing gradually deteriorated beginning in his late twenties, and from 1818 on, he was stone-deaf.

4 A baby shortly before birth — including the placenta, the umbilical cord and the amniotic fluid — equates approx. 15 pints.

5 See the Reiter Article on the Internet or The Beethoven Journal, vol. 22, no. 1, 2007 (American Beethoven Society).

 

Sketch by Joseph Danhauser (March 28, 1827).

 

Copyright © 2008 Harry Amon. All Rights Reserved – worldwide.