Poisoning in Composers
2014; Department of Psychiatry University Hospital Center Sestre milosrdnice; Volume: 50; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
2459-542X
AutoresDarko Breitenfeld, Božidar Pavelić, Darko Kranjčec, Jasenka Markeljević, Branimir Krištofić, Ivan Šimunec, Ivana Rešetar,
Tópico(s)Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
ResumoINTRODUCTIONAfter exploring several hundred composer's patographies, we sorted out those who committed suicide by poisoning and those who were poisoned.1-6 Generally, those were murders by poisoning. We elaborated the existing facts and presented the composers by short patographies arranged chronologically by the year of birth.7-10CHASTELAIN DE COUCI (1165-1203)Was a French composer. It is possible that he died of a natural cause while on his way to the Fourth crusade war and was buried at sea. However, a legend describes his love affair with Madam Fayel. Allegedly after her jealous husband found out about the affair and sent an assassin to poison him.GIOVANNI GIOVENALE ANCINA (1545-1604)Was an Italian composer. He was a very versatile, respectable, and wise person. He opposed to several social circles and was poisoned at the age of 59.MARCO ANTONIO PIETRO CESTI (1623-1669)Was also an Italian composer and conductor. He was very stubborn, litigious by his temper, tended to conflicts and had problems with alcohol abuse. He got into conflicts more often and died at the age of 46 in Firenze after a fight, allegedly poisoned by his competitors, fellow musicians.LEONARDO VINCI (1690-1730)He was an Italian composer. He died in a mysterious way at the age of 40, and there were rumors that he was poisoned because of a forbidden love affair. Just before his death he experienced severe abdominal cramps, but the same symptoms may have been caused by cholera.JOHANN SCHOBERT (1735-1767)Was a French composer. While he was on an excursion in the forest he came across some mushrooms which he later prepared. Everyone who ate the mushrooms in that meal, including Schobert, died of acute mushroom poisoning.DOMENICO CIMAROSA (1749-1801)Was an Italian composer. At the age of 50 he was involved in Naples reverberations of the French revolution and was convicted to death. Because of his notability he was spared and sent to Venice. There his medical condition abruptly worsened and he died shortly after. Because of his almost sudden death, the rumors spread that he was poisoned, which could suite with his tempestuous life. However, after turning 45, he was already sick with bilious chalices and lived in swamp areas where his medical condition over the last years was very aggravated.WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756-1791)Was an Austrian composer, pianist and conductor. There are four possible theories of Mozart's death. The most probable is an epidemic streptococcal fever, followed by subacute bacterial endocarditis which led to cerebral artery embolism, then kidney diseases such as post streptococcal glomerulonephritis, Hennoch-Schonlein purpura, polycystic kidney disease or nephrosis. The least possible theory is poisoning. The first among possible suspects is Antonio Salieri, for whom the public believed to have poi- soned Mozart out of jealousy, followed by a secret mason fraternity whose secrets Mozart partially revealed in his opera »The magic flute«. A possible perpetrator is also Sussmeyer for whom it was rumoured to be a possible lover of Mozart's wife. Also we can include Mozart's ex- mistresses or their angry husbands as possible perpetrators. Possible poisoning materials are mercury within treatment of possible syphilis, antimony, arsenic, and »aqua tofana«, but they are presented with different clinical symptoms from the ones present in Mozart's final disease. Emetics and purgatives which doctors used to eject the poison from his body and vein punctures shortly before his death could have worsened his condition.LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)Was a German composer, pianist and conductor. He developed a liver disease in 1821 which was probably caused by a hepatitis virus, and along with alcohol abuse, it progressed to liver cirrhosis. This broke out in a form of an acute disease in 1825 along with progression of his medical condition and resulting in his death. …
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