striking a string, cannot move forward, as can the sustained,
bowed tone of the violin, although careful phrasing on
the player’s part can make it seem to do so. Beethoven,
however, is almost alone in writing melodies that accept
this limitation, melodies of utter stillness in which each
chord is like a stone dropped into a calm pool. And it is
above all in the piano sonata that the most striking use of
improvisatory techniques as an element of construction
is found.
An Enduring Mystery
Beethoven remained a subject of interest long after his
death not only because of his music but also because of
unresolved questions concerning his troubled life. An
enduring topic of speculation was the cause of his debil-
itating illnesses and his erratic personality. In the
“Heiligenstadt Testament,” the composer recognized that
this subject would long be a perplexing one: “After my
death,” he wrote, “if Dr. Schmidt is still alive, ask him in
my name to discover my disease... so at least as much
as is possible the world may be reconciled to me after
my death.”
Nearly two centuries later, a scientific analysis of
strands of Beethoven’s hair suggested a possible answer to
this lingering question. Four years of study at Argonne
National Laboratory in Argonne, Ill., and the McCrone
Research Institute in Chicago led researchers to conclude
in 2000 that Beethoven had lead poisoning, which may
have caused his gastrointestinal distress, irritability, and
depression and possibly contributed to his death. The
cause of his deafness, however, remained more uncertain,
as causal relationships between lead poisoning and the
disability are rare.
7 Ludwig van Beethoven 7