Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) was a composer of extraordinary gifts, but a lifetime of maladies – including the almost-total loss of his hearing – threatened his ability to write music. He would overcome thoughts of suicide to compose his masterwork: the Ninth Symphony and its optimistic final movement, “Ode to Joy.” Correspondent Mo Rocca talks with biographer Jan Swafford and conductor Marin Alsop about Beethoven’s incredible triumph over terrible mental and physical suffering; and with a hearing specialist who has created a simulation of how Beethoven actually heard his music.
