Why Beethoven tugs at the heart strings: The rhythms of the German composer's music may have been prompted by a coronary disorder - Science - News - The Independent

Why Beethoven tugs at the heart strings: The rhythms of the German composer's music may have been prompted by a coronary disorder - Science - News - The Independent

 

Beethoven’s music may really have come from the heart. The composer
may have been suffering from a heart rhythm disorder, arrhythmia, which
is reflected in his works, researchers say. And the irregular heartbeat
sensations he felt – and his increased sensitivity due to deafness –
could be literally at the heart of his masterpieces.

“When your heart beats irregularly from heart disease, it does so in
some predictable patterns,” says Dr Zachary Goldberger, the cardiologist
who led the study. “We think we hear some of those same patterns in his
music.

“Beethoven may have been reflecting his own physical
sensations in his compositions – in other words, he was, in a sense,
setting an arrhythmia to music.”

 

A Beethoven score can reveal sudden tempo changes (Getty/AFP)

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