"Nadie es un gran hombre para su ayudante de cámara", dejó dicho Goethe. Evidentemente esta no es una puya contra los grandes hombres, sino contra los ayudantes de cámara. Si, pongamos por caso, Beethoven tenía gastroenteritis, eso es algo que -en todo caso- sólo podría haber afectado a su música en aquellos sublimes momentos en que pone a los instrumentos de viento a cabalgar. Vamos, digo yo...
Suchet also presents ongoing reports regarding Beethoven’s gastrointestinal issues, which run through the book like an idée fixe. These begin with a description of the stomach pains and diarrhea that Beethoven experienced before his first concert at the Burgtheater in Vienna in 1794, followed by periodic updates on his irritable bowel syndrome, bad digestion, irregularity, acute constipation, colic, distended stomach, and more. While these disorders have been noted elsewhere, they are presented in unusual detail here, so much so that one begins to wonder whether the book might have been more aptly titled The Inner Beethoven. This may be more information about Beethoven’s bodily functions than we want to know.
En The Weekly Standard