Ludwig van Beethoven performed Symphony No. 5, perhaps the world's most famous musical composition, for the first time in public in Vienna on this day in history, Dec. 22, 1808. Among other incredible ...

Ludwig van Beethoven's genome has been sequenced for the first time by an international team of scientists using five genetically matching locks of the well-known composer's hair. The research, led by ...

But it is not endless discussions of Beethoven’s works which the public — at all events, our public — demands. We wish his biography,— the history of his life. What has been given us does but whet the ...

When asked how important in the history of music is Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Beethoven biographer Jan Swafford replied, "It's immensely important. It's literally and metaphorically bigger than any ...

Despite his status as one of history's great composers, Beethoven is also remembered for his surly disposition and unkempt appearance. 'He was indeed irritable, untidy, clumsy, rude, and misanthropic, ...

A new study published Wednesday made several conclusions in regard to Ludwig van Beethoven’s ancestry and medical history. The genomic analysis examined DNA from eight locks of hair attributed to the ...

Researchers sequenced Beethoven's genome to better understand his underlying health conditions. Just five locks of hair provided the basis for the research. Liver disease helped contribute to his ...

Six months after Beethoven contemplated suicide, confessing his despair over his increasing deafness in the 1802 document known as the Heiligenstadt Testament, he was carousing in taverns with a ...

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On a stormy Monday in March, 1827, the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven passed away after a protracted illness. Bedridden since the previous Christmas, he was ravaged by jaundice, his limbs and ...