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Beethoven may not be the only composer who was deaf but he was a composer and he did go deaf later in his life.
Ludwig van Beethoven, the German composer and pianist, was born in 1770. Somewhere around 1796, Beethoven began to lose his hearing, suffering from severe tinnitus (ringing in the ears) which made it difficult for him to hear the music. By 1814, he was almost completely deaf. There has been much speculation as to what caused his deafness, but the true reason remains unknown.
Beethoven continued to compose music, despite the fact that his hearing had deteriorated to the point that he used "conversation books". He became sick in December 1826, becoming mostly bedridden until his death on 26 March, 1827.
ADDITION: Other fairly composers have gone deaf, including William Boyce (prior to Beethoven) and Bedřich Smetana. Both of these continued to work after their hearing loss, as Beethoven.
ADDITION: Gabriel Urbain Fauré also went deaf towards the end of his life and continued to compose. Also the lesser known German composer Felix Draeseke.
ADDITION: A living composer who actually began her music career with profound deafness (from age 12) is Dame Evelyn Glennie, who has composed/performed some of the most fascinating percussion music I've ever heard.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
ADDITION: Bedrich Smetana has already lost much of his hearing when he composed the famous piece, "Die Moldau"
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Ludwig Van Beethoven
He was deaf at the age of 28 after which he composed some of his best work.
Music is the wine which inspires one to new generative processes, and I am Bacchus who presses out this glorious wine for mankind and makes them spiritually drunken.
- Beethoven To learn more about Ludwig Van Beethoven double click on his name anywhere on this screen.
No famous composer was both blind and deaf.
Ludwig van Beethoven began to lose his hearing at age 26. By 1814, Beethoven was almost totally deaf.
The composer Joaquin Rodrigo (1901-1999), best known for the Concierto de Aranjuez (a concerto for guitar and orchestra), was blind. He lost most of his sight at the age of three after contracting diphtheria, and he wrote his music in braille.
Bach was severely sight-inhibited near the end of his life due to cataracts; he died after a botched eye surgery (the same doctor also killed Handel, doing the same operation).
Less well known is piano virtuoso and composer Maria von Paradis, who was a friend of Mozart. Maria lost her sight at an early age.
Although he was not blind, late classical/early romantic composer Friedrich Kuhlau (1786-17832) lost his right eye at the age of seven in an accident.
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Which composer was deaf by the time he wrote his 9th symphony?
Beethoven.
Was the composer Bach deaf?
Johann Sebastian Bach was not deaf, Beethoven was. Though Bach was blind for most of his life.
Would Beethoven be a better composer if he was not deaf?
It is doubtful that Beethoven would have been a better composer had he not become deaf. His encroaching deafness gave a new passion to his music as he struggled to deal with such a terrible situation.
Which famous European composer was still composing music although deaf?
Beethoven (1770-1827) continued writing music even though he went deaf in ~1808. Later on, the Czech composer Bedrich Smetana also went deaf, but he continued writing great pieces such as Die Moldau
Beethoven was handicapped because?
Beethoven overcame his disability by remembering music and notes from before he became deaf. He was a famous pianist and a respected composer before the deafness set in.
