Michael’s New Hero

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Michael, I find it so cool your sudden interest in Beethoven. As a long time listener of your Lansblog, I could not believe this sudden turn, as I have always been interested in classical music (as well as sports, by the way, doing both, jiu jitsu for more than 20 years). It is commonly believed Beethoven was totally deaf from some time in his 40s, but some recent research perhaps shows he retained some limited hearing in his left ear (based on comments in his diaries; see the Guardian article on this). But anyway it was amazing he kept going and persevered through his afflictions, including near deafness, if not total. Of course the main source of his depression was the lack of settling down with a woman in marriage — he was rejected over and over. Then there was the son of his brother who he went through the legal system to take custody of after his brother died, and Beethoven was so demanding and difficult to live with, the nephew attempted suicide with a pistol — he missed, grazed his temple, but the effect of it shocked Beethoven and he gave up custody. He was a lonely person in spite of being revered. What is great in his music is he captures the full spectrum of human emotions, the struggle to persevere and find the peaks, which he surely did. You might be interested in looking into the life of Robert Schumann, who is possibly the most famous classical composer who battled mental health issues, depression. He lived in the early Romantic period, shortly after Beethoven. He was married to a brilliant woman, Clara, had many children, was a music critic/writer, composer, pianist (he injured his hand with a mechanical contraption, that is another story). Unfortunately he battled depression and ended up jumping off a bridge into the Rhine River; some fishermen saved him, and he committed himself, voluntarily, into an asylum, where he died not many years after. He might have suffered from schizophrenia, it’s hard to tell. But he was brilliant. If only he’d received the proper help. If you have only one piece of his to listen to, try listening to his piano concerto (he only wrote one, for his wife Clara who was a great pianist). It captures the huge swings in emotion, the ecstasy and elation. Anyway, I’m ranting on. – I have something in common with Beethoven. I too suffer from hearing issues — tinnitus (Beethoven had tinnitus and described it in his diaries). It is the reason I started listening to your Lansblog, for the last I’d say 2.5 years. Not being able to hear silence is a terrible thing. I have mostly adapted to it, but in the initial period I was seriously depressed from it. I greatly admire the work you do for the community, and the new animated series on mental health sounds like something with great potential. No doubt you are thinking of scripts and potential work with animators. I hope it takes off and flies! Thanks –