Copyright © 2026 VPM, all rights reserved.
PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
VPM News Morning Edition
NEXT UP: 9:00 AM

Thanks to our sponsors – Become a Sponsor

Symphonic Forensics: Alsop’s ‘CSI Beethoven’

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is trying to solve two of music history’s most enduring mysteries: Why did Beethoven lose his hearing, and what was the cause of his death?

Conductor Marin Alsop leads the investigation, along with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, in a series of concerts called CSI Beethoven. The orchestra plays selections from Beethoven’s symphonies, joined by a team of forensic scientists — including Dr. Charles Limb, from the Department of Otolaryngology at Johns Hopkins University Hospital, and a leading researcher on deafness.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. utm

Tags

In 2007, Marin Alsop became music director of the Baltimore Symphony, making her the first woman to head a major American orchestra. She was named a 2005 MacArthur Fellow, the first conductor ever to receive the award. Between performances, she appears as an occasional guest on Weekend Edition Saturday and as a commentator for NPR.org's Marin Alsop on Music column.

Related Stories