lawyer who went crazy and made audio recordings

What did Richard Wagner have?

The great 19th-century German opera composer Richard Wagner suffered from erysipelas, or cellulitis, an infection that includes painful rashes and lesions. Wagner tried unsuccessfully to treat the condition with twice-daily enemas, and that may have been the reason for his love of satin robes and cushions.

What is Mozart's obsession with defecation and farting?

Much has been made of Mozart’s apparent obsession with defecation and farting, formally known as “scatology.”. In one of his funnier letters, Mozart writes that a stink has entered the room. When his mother suggests that he’s farted, Mozart puts a finger up his rear and then sniffs it to confirm she’s right.

What is Gesualdo known for?

Gesualdo is best known for the violent murder of his first wife, who’d committed adultery with a cross-dressing duke. After his second wife accused his own two lovers of witchcraft, they were tried for murder. One of the women confessed (under torture) that she had made Gesualdo drink her menstrual blood.

How did Wagner die?

To inspire himself for his final opera, Parsifal, Wagner surrounded himself with rose-scented pink cushions and a bath filled with perfume. He died of a heart attack in Venice at age 69, clad, according to rumor, in a pink dressing gown.

Who is Carlo Gesualdo?

The 17th-century Neopolitan composer Carlo Gesualdo was a royal prince acclaimed for his chromatic vocal music. But his compositions are not the reason he has been the subject of 11 operatic works and a 1995 Wernor Herzog pseudo-documentary called “ Death for Five Voices .”

What was Alexander Scriabin's condition?

The early 20th-century Russian composer Alexander Scriabin was gifted with synesthesia, a rare neurological condition in which two or more senses intertwine. Scriabin heard music as colors, and invented an instrument that could be played like a piano to project colored light into the concert hall.

Who is Peter Warlock?

Peter Warlock was the pseudonym of handsome, hard-partying British music critic Philip Heseltine, whose life inspired for numerous films and books, including D.H. Lawrence’s “ Women in Love .” When he wasn’t too busy smoking dope or writing crude limericks about other musicians, Warlock found time to write songs— over 200 by the time of his suicide at age 36.