Neurosurgeon Shares Insights on Beethoven’s Health, Creativity in Feb. 6 Talk

Retired neurosurgeon and classical music virtuoso Robert Bakos, M.D., will lead a free discussion on the science behind Ludwig van Beethoven’s artistry and maladies from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 6, at Pittsford Community Library.

Bakos will focus on Beethoven’s deafness, other illnesses and how they all impacted his life and creativity, and ultimately his death. He will also look at the lighter side of Beethoven’s life and sense of humor.

The retired University of Rochester Medical Center neurosurgeon is an accomplished violinist and clarinetist, having studied under Cleveland Orchestra’s former concertmaster Josef Gingold and bass clarinet extraordinaire Alfred Zetzer.

He has delivered a series of lectures at Eastman School of Music titled “Dead German Composers and How They Got that Way.” The talks focused on the medical and music lives of renowned composers including Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Robert Schumann, Franz Schubert, Johann Sebastian Bach and the Strauss family. 

Registration is desired but not required. Call the library at (585) 249-5481.