Ludwig Van Beethoven

Analysis of locks of hair clipped from the corpse of Ludwig van Beethoven 173 years ago indicate that the medical problems that plagued the renowned composer's life were probably caused by lead poisoning.

The nine Beethoven symphonies define their genre with an unmatched finality.

The orchestra has been summoned, the instruments tuned, Beethoven's Eighth Symphony has been ranged on music stands, and still the conductor has not arrived. The rehearsal begins anyway. The Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique is a period-instrument ensemble, well-versed in historical practice, and the concertmaster stands to lead a run-through the way many conductors did in Beethoven's youth, late in the 18th century--playing and marking the tempo with his shoulders, head and bow.

Before we begin celebrating Beethoven next week with his nine symphonies being played at the Performing Arts Center, we should pause to realize how much he had to change his world to create the music that has spoken to audiences for more than 200 years. Ludwig van Beethoven was born into a world in which musicians were servants. But through the force of his music and his personality, he changed that, much as he changed the course of music.

Tickets are still available for the Philharmonic Society of Orange County's Beethoven symphony festival next month at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa. But they're going fast. "The Ninth and the Seventh concerts are the closest to being sold out," Society Executive Director Dean Corey said Monday. "The best way to get good seats for the Ninth Symphony is to buy the three-concert package series that has the Third, Fifth and Ninth Symphonies," Corey said.

The "Complete Beethoven Edition," issued by Deutsche Grammophon to celebrate the label's 100th anniversary, requires 87 CDs and comes in a small suitcase that contains a two-tiered acrylic shelf, designed to hold the 20 volumes of multi-CD sets and a special book. It weighs a ton. Drop it on your foot and you could easily break a toe. Beethoven is heavy. It's all here, every scrap that Beethoven wrote. The Fifth Symphony, the "Eroica" and the "Ode to Joy."

Undeterred by the fact that their guest of honor has been deceased for more than 150 years, the Orange County Chamber Orchestra threw a birthday bash for Ludwig van Beethoven. About 100 orchestra supporters turned up at the Promontory Point Clubhouse in Newport Beach to celebrate Beethoven's 223rd birthday with German food, wine and--what else?--birthday cake. Last week's $30-a-person holiday gala raised about $2,500 for the orchestra.

Almost 25 years ago when the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra moved to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion from its old hall at Fifth and Olive, it left behind in the north end of adjacent Pershing Square the statue of Ludwig van Beethoven. Sculpted by A. Foerster and dedicated to William Andrews Clark Jr., founder of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, it was erected by the personnel of the orchestra and presented to the people of Los Angeles in 1932. The statue of this most famous and respected composer deserves a place of honor, not in a square named for a military general but rather at the Los Angeles County Music Center.