Did the famous composer Gustav Mahler work his fatal heart murmur into his final ninth symphony? To try and answer this question, I’m joined by Dr. Kevin Nordstrom of the Great Composers Podcast. We’ll delve into Mahler’s diseases, a history of heart sounds, musical theory, his obsession with mortality, and the unfortunate circumstances of his own death. Classical music and medicine, in one podcast! What more could you want? And included (at no extra charge!) is a new #AdamAnswers about the origins of respiratory therapy.

 

You can listen to Dr. Nordstrom’s Great Composers Podcast on iTunes or on his website.

 

Sources:

• Amenta C, “The Opening of Mahler's Ninth Symphony and the Bernstein "Heart-beat" Hypothesis by Charles Amenta,” Naturlaut 4(1): 17-18, 2005.
• Cardoso F and Leese AJ. “Did Gustav Mahler have Syndenham’s chorea?” Mov Disord. 2006 Mar;21(3):289-92.
• Christy NP et al, “Gustav Mahler and his illnesses,” Trans Am Clin Climatol Assoc. 1971; 82: 200–217.
• Ferretti J et al, “History of Streptococcal Research.” Streptococcus pyogenes : Basic Biology to Clinical Manifestations.
• Hannah IR and Silverman ME, “A history of cardiac auscultation and some of its contributors,” Am J Cardiol. 2002 Aug 1;90(3):259-67.
• Levy D, “Gustav Mahler and Emanuel Libman: bacterial endocarditis in 1911,” Br Med J (Clin Res Ed). 1986 Dec 20-27;293(6562):1628-31.
• Mangione S, “Mahler at 100: a medical history,” Hektoen International. http://hekint.org/2017/01/30/mahler-at-100-a-medical-history/