Diseases of Famous Composers: Twenty-Two Pathographies from Bach to Bartok

It is always a great pleasure to read a book that is the product of genuine love and enthusiasm. The author and the editor-transcriber of these fascinating accounts are both physicians and amateur musicians—born the same year, and both with European backgrounds. “Pathography” signifies a biographic sketch with special reference to the diseases suffered by the individual discussed on the basis of present-day medical knowledge. The majority of biographies of famous composers have been written by musicologists, friends, literary figures, or other famous musicians; therefore, the medical aspects of their lives were based on laymen’s observations, on the distorted memories of friends, relatives, and acquaintances.

These twenty-two “pathographies” can be divided into three categories. In the first are the composers who had relatively few problems during their lifetime, but suffered toward the end of their lives from diseases that did not interfere significantly with their creativity. This group includes J. S. Bach, Brahms, Haydn, Bruckner, Wagner, Reger, and Bartok. In the second category are composers who had intermittent, prolonged medical problems that were only partially diagnosed correctly: Mendelssohn, Handel, Rossini, Bellini, and Bizet. The most fascinating and tragic group is the third one: composers who suffered from severe medical conditions, mostly misdiagnosed and mistreated, resulting in extraordinary suffering—which, however, did not prevent them from developing their creative spirit. To this group belong Mahler, Schubert, Schumann, Wolf, Weber, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Donizetti, and Paganini.

The presentations are well balanced between an analysis of the medical conditions and their impact on the individual’s musical creativity. Some critics may comment that this book is a hybrid between music and medicine. Musicologists can argue that the appreciation the authors express lacks a scientific discipline; on the other hand, some meticulous medical historians may criticize the slightly anecdotal analysis of the diseases. This reviewer, however, being himself a dedicated amateur musician and a retired neurosurgeon, tremendously enjoyed the fascinating descriptions of the sufferings of these composers, hile appreciating the retrospective speculations through the eyes of contemporary medical knowledge.

There is a quite adequate bibliography, except that many of the English-language publications are missing; the focus is rather on the European contributions. It is a pity that the book has been poorly bound so that it falls apart, which will surely prevent its longevity in the libraries. Nevertheless, it should have a place on the shelves of music lovers and physicians who are interested in the medical history of these famous composers and the impact of their diseases on their creative output.