After thought
The time to compose like BEETHOVEN
By Evangelos Kilipiris Thessaloniki, Greece
TWO YEARS since WHO declared the COVID-19 health emergency as pandemic, and we all continue to struggle. It was just the beginning of lockdowns, physical distancing, and a tremendous effort to adapt our professional and personal lives into this new normal. The world suddenly looked like a large, distant, and very different place. Since then, all of us have experienced profound disruptions in almost every aspect of our lives. And in a time like this, there is one thing that we need most of all, and that is sounds of conviction, strength and character to help guide us through this difficult period.
singers’ voices”. The same year, a letter to another friend reflects Beethoven’s distress at his condition: “my most prized possession, my hearing has greatly deteriorated… this affliction affects me most when i am in company, not when i’m playing and composing”.
For this reason, is worth reflecting the widereaching legacy of Ludwig van Beethoven, the musical genius, whose 250th birth anniversary was celebrated in 2020. The appreciation to his ingenuity is enhanced by the knowledge that many of his masterwork has been created under a disruptive health condition. This young phenomenon was only eleven years old when his first compositions, three piano sonatas were published in 1781. However, “something strange” happened with his hearing in his late 20s (1796-1798) by experiencing a “strange buzzing”. The first letter where hearing impairment is mentioned was written to a close friend and physician in 1801. The letter indicates: “for the last three years my hearing has grown steadily weaker… in the theater i have to get very close to the orchestra to understand the performers, and… from a distance i do not hear the high notes of the instruments and the
34 iaoms.org
October 2021
