An Analysis Of Beethoven's Hair By Russell Martin

At the dawn of the 21st century, a lock of hair, once attached to possibly the greatest composer in the history of Western Music, was sold at Sotheby’s Auction house. The lock held within its strands both the known facts of Beethoven’s life as well as clues to the mystery of his death. Beethoven’s Hair, written by Russell Martin, has two main objectives – to tell the biographical story of the great composer Ludwig Van Beethoven, and to trace the lock’s path through history from the head of the composer to the modern-day lab. Martin asks a very important question - Who was Beethoven? Although historians often answer that question by listing his accomplishments, Russell Martin digs deeper. His uniquely analyzes six periods of Beethoven’s …show more content…
Ludwig was apparently beaten by his father and made to practice at the keyboard for grueling, long hours. Although turn such treatment into a hatred for music, the gifted Ludwig became an extremely proficient young musician, especially as a keyboard player. His talent landed him an audience with the great Mozart, who aptly commented after hearing him play, “Keep your eyes on that one…someday he will give the world plenty to talk about” (13). Although Beethoven was extremely talented, his life did not get easier as he grew. Although several different circumstances caused him deep personal turmoil, many musicologists believe that these hardships enabled him to compose such powerful works. One point of distress in Beethoven was his constant desire to be married. Although he had several interests throughout his life, none of these relationships resulted in marriage. His life was therefore plagued by loneliness, even though he was constantly in the public eye. For the strong majority of his life, Beethoven struggled with extreme physical ailments - most notably deafness, the fear of every musician. Lastly, after Beethoven’s brother died, a rough legal dispute erupted between him and his