Ludwig van Beethoven was a prodigious composer. He鈥檚 credited with 722 individual works, including symphonies, sonatas, and choral music 鈥� creations that pushed the boundaries of composition and performance, and helped usher in the Romantic era of music. But away from the fortepiano, Beethoven鈥檚 life was plagued by deafness, debilitating gastrointestinal troubles, and jaundice.
A little more than a year ago, scientists announced that they鈥檇 sequenced from preserved locks of his hair. They found genetic risk factors for liver disease, but nothing else terribly conclusive.
But some researchers have long wondered whether some of the answers lay beyond his genes 鈥� specifically, whether toxicity from heavy metals might have had something to do with his many ailments.
Now, after testing a few more strands of the composer鈥檚 hair, a team of scientists suggest in the journal that Beethoven was almost certainly exposed to lead 鈥� and that it may have contributed to the health issues that were such a feature of the storied composer鈥檚 life.
The struggles of Ludwig van Beethoven
Lead is a toxic metal that鈥檚 naturally found in the Earth鈥檚 crust. However, 鈥渋ts widespread use has resulted in extensive environmental contamination, human exposure and significant public health problems in many parts of the world,鈥� according to .
鈥淟ead has no useful purpose in the body,鈥� says , a physician-epidemiologist at the University of Southern California. 鈥淏ut unfortunately, it also mimics some of the other more essential elements. It鈥檚 an imposter. It gets incorporated into various enzyme and molecular structures in the body and then screws them up.鈥�
And that can lead to all kinds of issues, from brain damage to hypertension to kidney problems.
Beethoven began losing his hearing in his mid to late 20s and was fully deaf by his mid 40s. In addition, he suffered from jaundice and crippling GI problems. At one point he wrote his brothers a letter, now named the Heiligenstadt Testament, asking that his health problems be described after his death.
鈥淗e had wanted the world to know the truth behind the cause of his ailments,鈥� explains , the director of the Metals Laboratory at the Mayo Clinic.
The Metals Laboratory usually tests blood and urine samples for exposure to heavy metals, like lead, mercury, and arsenic. 鈥淐linically, our test menu is essentially the periodic table,鈥� says Jannetto. Among the lab鈥檚 typical responsibilities is screening kids for lead to try to determine if a patient鈥檚 symptoms might be due to heavy metal toxicity.
So Jannetto vividly recalls the moment a colleague sent him a very different request: Would he be willing to test Beethoven鈥檚 hair for heavy metals?
鈥淭hey always say, when opportunity knocks, you need to answer the door,鈥� says Jannetto. 鈥淚 absolutely said yes without even thinking twice. We could actually take [the hypothesis] and either prove it or not disprove it: Was Beethoven exposed to lead?鈥�
When someone is exposed to lead, some of the harmful metal gets deposited in their hair. This means that even without a blood sample, scientists can use someone鈥檚 hair to determine their lead levels posthumously.
So the owner of two separate locks of Beethoven鈥檚 hair put something like two or three dozen strands in a special collection kit and shipped it to the Mayo Clinic 鈥� where , Technical Coordinator at the Metals Lab, received it.
鈥淚 used tweezers,鈥� says Erdahl, who said she felt zero temptation to touch the composer鈥檚 hair with her bare hands. 鈥淢y heart was fluttering and I was like, 鈥極h my goodness, this is so significant.鈥� When you have that small amount of hair, every strand counts.鈥�
Jannetto agreed, adding that this approach is one that extends to the lab鈥檚 customary, living patients.
鈥淏ehind every sample 鈥� whether it鈥檚 blood [or] hair 鈥� is a person,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 why it鈥檚 precious and we handle it with care.鈥�
Erdahl carefully rinsed and treated the hair before running it through the instrument that measures heavy metals. The levels of arsenic and mercury in Beethoven鈥檚 hair were slightly elevated.
The lead levels, on the other hand, were a startling 64 to 95 times higher than the hair of someone today.
It was a dramatic reveal 鈥� which could explain why, in that moment, the opening bars of Beethoven鈥檚 5th Symphony crashed through Erdahl鈥檚 brain:
鈥淒un dun dun dun.鈥�
鈥淭his is so much more elevated than any other patient samples we鈥檙e seeing,鈥� she recalls thinking. 鈥淭his is extremely significant.鈥�
Where classical music meets heavy metal
That substantial buildup of the toxic metal likely came from the goblets and glasses Beethoven drank out of, certain medical treatments of that age, and his consumption of wine.
鈥淲e do know Beethoven loved his wine,鈥� says Jannetto. 鈥淎nd back then, it was not uncommon to actually add lead acetate to the less expensive wines because it binds the acids to add a sweeter flavor to the wine.鈥�
Jannetto says that even for people of his time period, the lead levels in Beethoven鈥檚 hair would have been about 10 times higher than average. 鈥淲hat this showed is he had a chronic exposure to high concentrations of lead,鈥� he says.
The lead wouldn鈥檛 have killed him, but it likely contributed to his health problems.
鈥淎 lot of those documented ailments that Beethoven had,鈥� says Jannetto, 鈥渢hose are traditional signs and symptoms that a neurologist or clinician could see in a patient that was exposed to lead.鈥� These include liver disease (which would have been aggravated by his genetic risk factor, regular drinking, and infection with hepatitis B), gastrointestinal challenges, and hearing loss.
Hu, who wasn鈥檛 involved in the research, praised the work.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 some good science,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 think it was pretty darn rigorous.鈥�
Hu has studied lead exposure and toxicity for almost 40 years, including in the context of some low- and middle-income countries where lead contamination can still be a problem.
鈥淚t鈥檚 still a major problem globally,鈥� he says, 鈥渂ecause of lead contamination in spices and cookware and all sorts of other sources around the world.鈥�
Still, Hu can鈥檛 help but reflect on how Beethoven managed his virtuosic composing in spite of the lead.
鈥淚t makes you even more awestruck by what he was able to accomplish,鈥� Hu says.
He wonders whether perhaps the very struggle with his health helped shape the emotional contours of some of Beethoven鈥檚 compositions.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know,鈥� Hu chuckles. 鈥淚t鈥檚 fun to speculate about it.鈥�
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