High levels of lead detected in authenticated locks of Ludwig van Beethoven’s hair suggest that the composer had lead poisoning, which may have contributed to ailments he endured over the course of ...

Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, which includes the magnificent "Ode to Joy," premiered on May 7, 1824. We recently passed its bicentennial. The Ninth was greeted as a masterpiece from the outset and ...

But above one sketch Beethoven did for the Ninth Symphony, he included the French word for despair.“When you look back at his life, it’s a life that is so full of despair. He went deaf. He never found ...