導言：對於一個音樂家來說，聽覺的重要性不言而喻。然而，貝多芬在27歲時就患上了耳疾，30歲以後，他的耳病更加嚴重，由此他變得孤僻，痛苦之極，每天都在憂鬱中度過。貝多芬一度絕望地想到了死。但死的意志最終轉化為對生的渴望，從而他大多數作品中體現了這種掙扎的狀態。貝多芬究竟如何成為聾人的，跟隨今天的文章一探究竟。點擊文末閱讀原文查看原文出處。
Beethoven Deafness:How Beethoven Became Deaf
貝多芬的耳聾:貝多芬如何成為聾人
By CMUSE
Alongside Beethoven’s deserved reputation as a ground-breaking composer is his equally renowned deafness. This debilitating condition Beethoven suffered has become as much an interest to enthusiasts and scholars as his musical output.Beethoven was not born and many rumours have circulated over the years as to the causes of his deafness. One of the more curious options is the story of how Beethoven would keep himself awake by immersing his entire head into the icy water.
在貝多芬享有作為一名舉世無雙的作曲家的名聲的同時，他的失聰也舉世聞名。就像貝多芬的作品那樣，他遭受的病痛引起了音樂愛好者以及學者們的興趣。貝多芬並非先天性失聰，多年來有許多關於造成他耳聾的原因的謠言。其中一個更為奇怪的謠言是貝多芬把他整個頭部進入冰水中來保持清醒的故事。
It has been speculated that this may have been an exacerbating factor to his condition even if not the actual cause. What it did do was allow Beethoven to keep writing astonishing music even when he probably should have given in to rest or sleep.The condition began for Beethoven in his early twenties. It was probable that Beethoven dismissed this intermittent impairment of his hearing as his health was never what could be considered to be robust. Twenty or so years later, around the age of forty-five Beethoven was thought to be completely deaf. There is much speculation as to whether the composer was in fact totally without hearing but the overwhelming evidence suggests that he probably was.
據推測，即使不是真正的原因，這也可能是他病情惡化的一個因素。雖然這麼做所做可以讓讓貝多芬繼續寫出令人大為驚奇的音樂作品，即使他本該休息或睡覺。這個情況開始於貝多芬20歲出頭的時期。貝多芬大概因為它的健康狀況從來沒有被認為是健壯的，他對於這種間歇性聽力障礙不屑一顧。大約20多年後，在貝多芬45歲左右的時候，他被認為是完全耳聾了。有很多人對於這位作曲家是否完全失去聽覺有很多猜測，但是壓倒性的證據表明他可能的確如此。
An autopsy was performed by a reputable and respected Viennese doctor with the name of Johannes Wagner. This autopsy is still viewed today as a reliable source of information regarding not only Beethoven’s deafness but a key document highlighting the many other ailments that Beethoven suffered during his lifetime; none of which were properly cured.What the Wagner report finds is that Beethoven was most probably suffering from what is known as Paget’s disease.
一名享有盛譽且受人尊敬名為約翰內斯·華格納（Johannes Wagner）的維也納醫生對貝多芬進行了屍檢。直至今日，這次驗屍不僅被認為是對貝多芬的失聰的一個可靠信息來源，也是強調貝多芬一生中遭受許多其他疾病的重要文獻；沒有任何一個病症被妥善治癒。在華格納的屍檢報告中發現，貝多芬很有可能患有所謂的佩吉特病。
This disease is associated with many of the symptoms Beethoven describes in his correspondence from deafness to chronic digestive problems and even his psychiatric condition.Beethoven’s skull was found to be twice the thickness of a normal skull and there was extensive dilation of vessels near the petrous bone located towards the base of the skull. Wagner also discovered that Beethoven’s auditory nerves were atrophied or wasted, which would go some way to explaining his deafness.
這種疾病與貝多芬在書信中描述的許多症狀有關，從耳聾到慢性消化問題，甚至是他的精神疾病。貝多芬的頭骨被發現時一般人頭骨的兩倍之厚，並且在靠近頭骨底部的石質骨附近有大範圍的血管擴張。華格納還發現了貝多芬的聽覺神經衰退，這也一定程度上解釋了貝多芬的耳聾。
In addition to Paget’s disease, Beethoven endured cirrhosis which shows itself through the scaring of the individuals liver. Beethoven’s often excessive alcohol consumption was a direct cause of this and what eventually killed him.Beethoven’s condition worsened in 1801 when he first reported it to his physician. His moods and demeanour were as many have mentioned, highly changeable, almost unpredictable and his music began to change too.
除了佩吉特病症，貝多芬還遭受過肝硬化的折磨，這種病症通過個體肝臟的傷痕體現出來。貝多芬長期過量飲酒是造成這個症狀的直接原因，也是最終導致他死亡的因素。在1801年，貝多芬首次向醫生報告他病情惡化。他的情緒和舉止正如許多人提到那樣，幾乎不可預測，他的音樂也開始發生了變化。
Much debate has rattled on about the effect of growing hearing problems with Beethoven’s compositions. His own nephew Karl van Beethoven suggested to the composer himself that his deafness was in all probability at the cause of his musical genius, but Beethoven was said not to be in agreement with his nephew’s impression.
關於貝多芬日益嚴重的聽力問題對他作曲的影響也引發了激烈爭論。他的侄子卡爾·范·貝多芬（Karl Van Beethoven）對貝多芬暗示，他的耳聾很可能是他具有音樂天賦的原因，但據說貝多芬並不同意他侄子的看法。
It is also worth taking into account that as Beethoven became more and more hard of hearing his other ailments increased. He did not seek company and it would seem by choice, isolated himself from social contact. There was an emerging sense of despair in Beethoven as the deafness took a hold and this subconsciously or otherwise must have had a marked impact on his compositions. It certainly had a marked impact on his Viennese pianos whose hammers and strings allegedly shattered under the force of his playing.
同樣值得考慮的是，隨著貝多芬聽力衰退加劇，其他疾病也加重了。他並沒有尋求陪伴，這看起來是他自己的意願，將自己與社會隔離開來。在耳聾的影響下，貝多芬逐漸產生了一種絕望的感覺，這意識裡或在其他方面對他的作品產生了明顯的影響。這無疑對他的維也納鋼琴產生了顯著的影響，據說在他演奏時的重力下，錘子和琴弦都破碎了。
Beethoven was always a revolutionary in his approach to all things musical and his piano technique was not an exception. What he wanted to achieve with his pianos they were not at the time, capable of delivering. This coupled with ever weaker hearing probably led to the damage of many instruments whose quality was not particularly robust.
貝多芬在一切音樂方面的方法都是革命性的，他的鋼琴技巧也毫無例外。他想要用他的鋼琴實現在當時不能完成的目標。這種情況加上聽力衰退，可能導致許多質量不是特別結實的樂器受到損害。
What can be agreed is that in spite of Beethoven’s terrible condition he continued to compose extraordinary music including the Symphonies 2 -9, Piano Concertos four and five; the 『Moonlight』 Piano Sonata to name but a few. The work during these final and increasingly silent years of Beethoven’s life do not descend into self-pity and gloomy despair.
可以同意的是，儘管貝多芬的狀況非常糟糕，他仍繼續創作傑出的音樂，其中包括第二至第九號交響樂，第四以及第五首鋼琴協奏曲；「月光」奏鳴曲，等等。在貝多芬生命中最後的、日漸沉寂的歲月裡，他並沒有陷入自憐和悲觀的絕望之中。
Beethoven did not give up, instead could be seen as adopting a staunchly heroic stance against the odds, and going on to compose works of immense musical beauty and importance. Consider the 『Waldstein』 Piano Sonata Op. 53, the 4th Piano Concerto or the 6th Symphony (『the pastoral』). Each of these works is, in my opinion, are triumphant and optimistic pieces that show the strength of spirit and invention that Beethoven continued to show even though his deafness was worsening.
貝多芬並沒有放棄，而是可以被視為採取堅決的英雄姿態來對抗困難，並繼續創作具有無限音樂美感和重要性的作品。想想《第53號鋼琴奏鳴曲「黎明「》，《第四鋼琴協奏曲》，或者《第六交響曲「田園」》。在我看來，這其中每一首，都是充滿勝利、樂觀的作品，也持續展現了貝多芬的精神力量以及創造力，即使他的耳聾正在惡化。
What is often hard to comprehend is how Beethoven managed to compose anything at all as he approached complete deafness, or during the early stages of the problems when he was plagued with a persistent ringing in his ears (tinnitus). Beethoven was a composer who sketched. Compositions did not simply arrive, neatly packaged by a muse to be written down and performed. From the artefacts that Beethoven left after his death, we can learn a considerable amount about his techniques as a composer. His sketches often were small motifs, fragments that then he developed into fully fledged compositions.
通常被難以理解的是貝多芬如何在近乎耳聾時，或在症狀初期，他一直遭受耳鳴的困擾無法完成任何事情時，他是如何作曲的。貝多芬是一位勾勒出來的作曲家。作品不是簡單的到達，由一位繆斯簡潔整理書寫下並演奏。從貝多芬去世後的遺作中，我們可以學到大量關於他作為一名作曲家的技巧。他的手稿通常是短小的主題動機、片段，之後他將它發展成為完整成熟的作品。
As time went on Beethoven may not have been able to physically hear his music by playing it on the piano for example, but by the time the illness was in full effect, Beethoven’s inner ear and compositional methods were firmly established. He would already 『know』 how each work would sound without the need to hear it out loud.
隨著時間的推移，貝多芬可能無法通過在鋼琴彈奏來親身聽到他的音樂，但當受病情完全影響時，貝多芬的內耳和作曲方法就已經完全確立。他已經能「感知」每個作品的音響效果，而不需要確切聽到。
Many composers and practising musicians are fully able to hear a musical score without the need for it being played. This is often referred to as the ability to audiate and is a valuable facility if you do not have access to a piano, or more seriously if you are deaf. This may not be a possibility for those born deaf but as we know Beethoven went deaf over a period of time and it is probable that he could easily audiate.
許多作曲家和專業的音樂家們不需要彈奏，就能完全聽到樂譜。這通常被稱為是審核能力，如果你無法使用鋼琴，或者更嚴重的是，如果你是聾人，則是更具有價值的才能。對於那些先天失聰的人，可能是不可能的事情。但是正如我們所知，貝多芬經歷一段時間才耳聾，他很可能可以容易的「聽到」音樂。
Had Beethoven been composing today it is very possible that his condition could have been cured, or at least dealt with adequately when Beethoven first complained about it. There is, however, nothing to suggest that this would have greatly altered the work he produced but it may have enabled him to have completed his sixth Piano Concerto and his Tenth Symphony, but that we will never know.
假使貝多芬在當今作曲，他的病情很可能能被治癒，或者，至少在他第一次抱怨的時候就能得到充分治療。然而，沒有任何跡象表明這會大大的改變他所創作的作品，但是這可能能讓他完成他的第六首鋼琴協奏曲，以及他的《第十交響曲》，但我們永遠不會知曉。
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