Haydn's Head

[shostakovich]

Yesterday my wife saw something on the Travel Channel about Haydn's head being separated from his body shortly after he died for the purpose of phrenological study (the correlation of skull structure and personality traits). According to the story, the head was not returned for quite a while, and Haydn's body was moved. I've forgotten when they were supposed to have been reunited, but the separation was more than a century long.<P>I must have been born under a skeptical star. I checked several bios, on line and off without luck. One did say that his body was moved 11 years after he died, but none mentioned a severed head. I know some of you are better researchers than I am. HELP!!<P>Here's a similar story that I'm pretty sure is NOT true. In 1970 Beethoven's body was exhumed to celebrate his 200th birthday. When the casket was opened there was a tiny, shriveled Beethoven tinkling at a tiny piano. He would crumple the score, throw it away, and then tinkle the keys. It was crumple, tinkle, crumple, tinkle, etc. Someone tapped him on the shoulder and said "Beethoven, what are you doing?" <BR> "I'm --- de --- composing"<BR>Shos

[jnowacki]

Hi Shos!<P>The Haydn story IS true...it was the Esterhazy Court Secretary who belonged to a Phrenological society in Vienna, and who made off with the famed cranium! The group wanted to study Haydn's skull to see if they could determine the origins of his genius. <P>Haydn's head was finally re-united with his body in the 1950's ('53, I think) when he was laid to rest in a new tomb....<P>-john-

[shostakovich]

Thank you, John. Now what about the Beethoven story?<BR>Shos

[Michael]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by shostakovich:<BR><B>Thank you, John. Now what about the Beethoven story?<BR>Shos</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>I think the Beethoven story is highly unlikely,Shos. He was stone deaf and therefore would have been unable to reply to the question:"What are you doing?"<P>Michael<P>

[shostakovich]

You're right, Michael. THAT should have tipped me off when I first heard the story.<BR>Shos

[Peter]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by jnowacki:<BR><B>Hi Shos!<BR>The Haydn story IS true...it was the Esterhazy Court Secretary who belonged to a Phrenological society in Vienna, and who made off with the famed cranium! The group wanted to study Haydn's skull to see if they could determine the origins of his genius. <BR>Haydn's head was finally re-united with his body in the 1950's ('53, I think) when he was laid to rest in a new tomb....<BR>-john-</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>What an amazing story! And I thought they had a nerve cutting off Beethoven`s hair! Did HH (Headless Haydn) have no family to object to such a macabre, Frankensteinian practice? Where was the head kept all that time?<BR>

[shostakovich]

The family may not have known, if it was a surrepititious decapitation. That is, it didn't make headlines. I'll defer to John Nowacki for a serious answer.<BR>Shos

[hornplayer]

Yeah, we learned that tidbit about Haydn's head in my music history class. No, no, the Beethoven story is true, Im sure of it.

[audiogirl]

You guys crack me up. The version I heard was that group of tourists was standing around Beethoven's grave. After hearing several of his symphonies played backwards, they finally asked the tour guide what was going on. "Don't you understand?" he asks.<BR>"Beethoven's decomposing." Yuk Yuk.

[Joe Cassara]

Oh, brother! Isn't that joke DEAD yet?