Robert Peters wrote:

>...  In a feature on my favourite German classical radio program someone
>said that Beethoven himself saw the cause of his deafness in a venereal
>disease.  Was he right?

Probably not.  There has been alot of speculation on Beethoven having
syphilis, but there was a recent analysis on some of Beethoven's hair, and
it showed no traces of the chemicals used to treat syphilis at the time.
There was, however, a large concentration of lead, which sggested that
Beethoven suffered for a good deal of his life from lead poisoning.  This
explains some of the health problems, like stomach problems, and
irritability that Beethoven experienced.

I had a girlfriend who is a doctor that said Beethoven's symptoms directly
correspond to a certain disease which gradually fuses the inner ear bones
together over the course of many years.  Today this condition is cured by
replacing these tiny bones with plastic ones.

It's still quite possible that in Beethoven's mind, he equated his deafness
as a punishment for some sin he committed.  But that is probably not what
actually caused it.

Mark
http://www.LandsonMusic.com
"It's not the audience's job to pay attention, it is the role of the artist
to command attention!" - Mark Landson