[Genius between music and disease: Medical considerations on Ludwig van Beethoven]

Ludwig van Beethoven is nowadays considered to be one of the greatest composers in the history of music and his myth-like reputation is enhanced by his deafness; however, deafness was not the only condition which affected his genius. Due to the many lamentations contained in his letters about continuously recurring health problems, various attempts at an interpretation of Beethoven's personality have been undertaken. These included psychoanalytical considerations with respect to his father-mother relationship and also diagnostic attempts with reference to the symptoms of a possible borderline personality syndrome. The aim of this article is to comprehensively analyze the diseases of the patient Beethoven from the perspective of specialized medical disciplines based on new research results, to summarize various discipline-specific considerations and to make a contemporary assessment from the viewpoint of current scientific results.