When things are bad, and the problems of life seem almost insurmountable, I think of Beethoven, the great composer who was a mere twenty-eight when he started going deaf. The siren call was tinnitus. A ghastly invasive white noise with its intolerable ringing and weird high-pitched squeals that constantly played in his ears. As these … Continue reading "‘I shall meet thee bravely’: Beethoven finds a reason to live at a moment of desperation"