Free Republic

Beethoven and the Catholic Church MICHAEL DE SAPIO Ludwig van Beethoven, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart form the great trinity of Western classical composers. Of the three, it is Beethoven whose religious beliefs have proven the most elusive.  We know all about the devout Lutheranism of Bach, who wrote his music "for the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul"; and Mozart was a practicing Catholic, as his letters make clear.  Beethoven, by contrast, was reticent about expressing his religious convictions.  He is often portrayed as a child of the secular-humanist Enlightenment — a freethinking individualist...

Science Reporter Sophisticated new tests confirm that Ludwig van Beethoven suffered severe lead poisoning, which could explain his cranky personality. But lead poisoning probably is not the reason why the great composer lost his hearing, researchers announced Tuesday. In 2000, tests of Beethoven's hair at southwest suburban Argonne National Laboratory showed he had lead concentrations roughly 100 times higher than levels found in healthy adults today. But hair analysis is not scientifically conclusive. Moreover, skeptics said, hair samples used in the test could have been contaminated by, for example, hair powder, dirt or grease. But a new test at Argonne,...