Virtuosic pianist and composer Beethoven suffered from several debilitating ailments. A new study suggests lead poisoning may be at least partly to blame.
"Beethoven" . A new study suggests the German composer and pianist may have suffered from lead poisoning.
So the owner of two separate locks of Beethoven’s hair put something like two or three dozen strands in a special collection kit and shipped it to the Mayo Clinic — where“I used tweezers,” says Erdahl, who said she felt zero temptation to touch the composer’s hair with her bare hands. “My heart was fluttering and I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, this is so significant.’ When you have that small amount of hair, every strand counts.
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’s hair were slightly elevated. “We do know Beethoven loved his wine,” says Jannetto. “And 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.”
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