Mozart's notorious reputation for swearing and odd behavior may have been caused by a medical condition rather than a quirk of his intelligent musical mind, a medical journal reported Friday.
The composer was possibly suffering from Gilles de la Tourette syndrome, Benjamin Simkin of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles wrote after studying the composer's letters.The syndrome is a genetic disease often characterized by hyperactivity, twitchy, impulsive movements and an almost uncontrollable love of foul language.
Writing in the British Medical Journal, Simkin said the surprising number of obscenities in Mozart's letters had yet to be satisfactorily explained.
Simkin studied the frequent bad language in 39 of Mozart's 371 published letters, and reported about 17 percent of the letters suggested the Tourette syndrome was to blame for the widespread use of obscene words.
The report also details reflections from the composer's friends and family who often noted how Mozart's body was "perpetually in motion."
Joseph Lange, an actor and amateur artist who painted portraits of Mozart in 1782 and 1789, said: "Either he intentionally concealed his inner tension behind superficial frivolity . . . or he took delight into throwing into sharp contrast the divine ideas of his music and these sudden outbursts of vulgar platitudes."