It's not often a famous composer helps solve a 200-year-old mystery, but DNA from Beethoven's hair might actually do that.

One stormy Monday in March, 1827, the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven passed away after a protracted illness.

However, "no definitive cause has been found for Beethoven's deafness or gastrointestinal problems" One of the things that changes everything is the lack of a match in Beethoven's paternal line.

Starting at the end, Georgia and Henry look at the report of Beethoven's post-mortem, carried out by Dr. Johannes Wagner in Vienna on the day after Beethoven died, 27th March, 1827. It makes grim ...

Beethoven's devastating hearing loss scarred all of his adult life, from his late 20s onwards. His deafness deepened the conflict he felt between the inner world of his imagination and the ...

Though it remained a secret between his doctor and himself for many years, we know that Beethoven was aware of impending deafness as early as his 26th year – otosclerosis was certainly part of the ...

Scientific research on those locks established that, among his other ailments which included deafness and cirrhosis, Beethoven also suffered from lead poisoning which may have contributed and ...

Written at a time when Beethoven’s deafness was becoming more pronounced, this condition invoked large amounts of despair in the aggrieved composer, yet the work is famously full of playful ...

By the time Beethoven had written the Ninth, Hege said, the composer was completely deaf. “Going over these obstacles and then brimming over with optimism about this very radical idea ...

With all the turmoil in the world, this play is a reminder to ask, ‘What will you do to make this moment worth living?'" ...