Did Beethoven's Sick Heart Set Beat for Music? : DNews — news.discovery.com

A new way of analyzing some of Ludwig van Beethoven's most famous works reveals that his irregular heartbeat could have literally set the beat for them.A cardiologist, a medical historian and a musicologist took a close look at several of Beethoven’s compositions, including the final movement, “Cavatina,” in Beethoven’s String Quartet in B-flat Major, Opus 130, a stormy, emotional piece.“His music may have been both figuratively and physically heartfelt,” said coauthor Joel Howell, a professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School and member of the University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, in a press release.

Read More