Beethoven was no doubt a great composer but dignity? Certainly at times he was dignified and certainly was that way about his music but he probably died from syphilis and hepatitis both probably contracted sexually. The syphilis probably caused his hearing loss. He drank to excess and was generally a royal pain to be around. Basically the aging rock star of his day.
You make a good point. I looked up the word dignity and found one definition here:
"a man of dignity and unbending principle" Mencken admitted that Beethoven the person was in many ways undignified. But when it came to music, Beethoven was able to tap into a certain power or genius that other men could not. And I thoroughly agree that many rock stars are not dignified either. Even still, the quality of the best rock music and Beethoven can be respected regardless of the man or woman behind it. Perhaps Mencken should have said "a man of genius" instead of a "man of dignity". What do you think? |