A vicious, early-spring storm darkened Viennas late-afternoon sky. Suddenly, an enormous thunder-clap reverberated throughout the Schwarzspanierhaus (jewelry). Inside, a man was dying.Although deaf and comatose, Ludwig van Beethoven seemed startled by the enormous thunder peal. Lifting his right arm – as though he were a general, commanding an army – the 56-year-old composer momentarily clenched his raised fist.Seconds later, his arm fell back onto his bed, and Beethoven died. It was the 26th of March, 1827.Some people thought Beethoven strange – or even hostile. Except for his servants, the maestro lived alone, like someone who had been banished.

In a way, he was banished. Separated from the hearing world – in which people listened to his music – Beethoven heard nothing as the sound of his compositions echoed throughout Europe.

How could someone who penned great musical works – like the second movement of his 7th Symphony, or the 9th, or the 5th – create when he was profoundly deaf? How did he view his genius, coupled with his deafness?

Two centuries later, Beethovens music is still popular. His influence remains extraordinary. But … jewelry – as a boy, as a man and as a musician?jewelry