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Deathbed Music: The Final Works Of Famous Composers

NPR
All Things Considered
January 8, 2012

Mozart, Beethoven and others wrote bold, uncharacteristic pieces during their last days on Earth.

When it comes to last words, there’s a kind of poetry in even the oddest ones. Oscar Wilde hated the wallpaper in the room where he died: “One of us has to go,” he muttered. Salvador Dali: “Where is my clock?” Steve Jobs: “Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow,” according to his sister, who was in the room.

Writer and composer Jan Swafford was thinking about these and other last words recently. In a piece for Slate, he takes a look at another kind of swan song: the late or final works of famous classical composers.

Read the full article and listen to program audio (10:56) at NPR

RELATED LINK

Last Notes: The wild, sublime music that composers write on their deathbeds (Slate Magazine)

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