Beethoven’s bad liver may not have been solely down to alcohol, say experts

Ludwig van Beethoven. The scientists studied eight locks of hair to shed light on the composer’s health problems. Photograph: GL Archive/Alamy

When an autopsy was carried out after Ludwig van Beethoven’s death in 1827, his liver was found to be “beset with nodules the size of a bean”. Now researchers say the cause may not have been alcohol consumption alone, with a genetic analysis revealing the great composer experienced a hepatitis B infection and was at high risk for liver disease – the condition generally thought to have killed him.

Tristan Begg, first author of the research from the University of Cambridge, said Beethoven had been extremely sensitive in his lifetime about suggestions he was a drunkard.