Six Shocking Composer Deaths

Jean Baptiste Lully (died 1687)
Probably the only musician whose death resulted from an occupational injury. He died due to a conducting injury, and no, he didn't stab himself with a baton. Back in the 17th century, conductors beat out time on the ground with a giant stick. One day, Lully hit his toe instead of the ground, and the wound got to be gangrenous. Lully didn't want to have his toe amputated, and he died of blood poisoning two months later.





Mieczysław Karłowicz (died 1909)

This is one of the saddest early deaths on this list. Mieczysław Karłowicz died from being caught in an avalanche while skiing in the Tatra moutains. He was only 32. Since Karłowicz died so young, he didn't have a chance to write much music. If he had lived longer, maybe he would have made a break to major fame, and more people would know his great music. We should be glad he lived to write his Violin Concerto!




Jean-Marie Leclair (died 1764)
Just because you're famous doesn't mean you're immune from a violent death. The French Baroque composer and violinist, Jean-Marie Leclair was found stabbed to death in his home. It is strongly suspected that his disgruntled ex-wife had something to do with it, but to this day, no one knows who did it. Leclair brought the violin to prominence in France by writing music that was difficult, interesting, and original. Even today, Leclair's violin music is considered highly chellenging.






Alban Berg (died 1935)

Like Jean Baptiste Lully, Berg died of blood poisoning. The cause was, however, not occupational. Berg received an insect bite on his back which became infected, and eventually killed him. Berg combined the new 12-tone technique with the old romantic lyricism. Despite his breaking out of traditional tonality, Berg's music shows the romantic influence of Gustav Mahler, Richard Wagner, and his first teacher, Arnold Schoenberg. Alban Berg and Anton Webern met as students studying with Schoenberg. The teacher and pupils would maintain a tight relationship through their careers.





Anton Webern (died 1945)
Webern died from a soldier's bullet in WWII. After stepping outside in Mittersill, Austria to smoke a cigar, an Allied soldier shot him upon seeing the flame. The soldier who shot Webern suffered greatly from remorse, and died from alcoholism 10 years later. Webern was known for his concise musical expression. Some of his works come in under a minute, and his complete works recording is a 6-CD set. I would be interested to see what else he would have written had his life not been snuffed out when he lit up.






Ernest Chausson (died 1899)
Maybe it was an accident. Maybe it was suicide. Ernest Chausson died from crashing his bicycle into a brick wall at high speed. He was originally trained in law at the demand of his father, but Chausson's heart was in music. Even though he was a composer to the core, he only leaves us 39 opus numbers. Quality definitely came over quantity. As I would with any other composer who died relatively young, I wonder what Chausson's compositional future would have brought.