Suffering from triskaidekaphobia? On this Friday the 13th, here are just a few composers who were afflicted with extraordinarily bad luck.
Jean-Baptiste Lully, also an accomplished dancer, injured his toe while pounding the floor with a heavy stick to mark time; the resultant infection killed him.
Anton Webern violated curfew when he snuck out on his porch for a smoke and was shot by an American soldier.
Ernest Chausson lost control of his bicycle and fatally slammed into a brick wall.
Fire tore through Geirr Tveitt’s cabin and destroyed four-fifths of his compositional output, driving him to alcoholism.
Friedrich Kuhlau blinded himself when he fell on a bottle at the age of seven; later, he died of complications after being left out in the cold all night as his house burned to the ground.
Charles-Valentin Alkan was reaching for a copy of the Talmud, located on a high shelf, when his bookcase toppled, crushing him.
Henry Purcell developed pneumonia after his wife locked him out of the house for coming home late after one too many pub crawls.
Alexander Scriabin died of a septic carbuncle.
Tchaikovsky drank cholera-contaminated water.
Jean-Marie Leclair was found murdered in his room.
Alessandro Stradella was set upon by unidentified assassins.
None of these misfortunes occurred on Friday the 13th.
On the other hand, Arnold Schoenberg, a notorious triskaidekaphobe, died on his 76th birthday, Friday the 13th, 1951. Earlier in the day, he had been informed by his astrologer that 7 plus 6 equals… 13.
Paraskevidekatriaphobia – derived from the Greek words “paraskevi” (Friday) and “dekatria” (thirteen), with “-phobia” appended as a suffix to indicate “fear,” was coined in the early ‘90s by American psychotherapist Dr. Donald E. Dossey. He wryly remarked that when you’re able to pronounce the word, you’re cured.
In the meantime, don’t open any umbrellas indoors and try not to walk under any ladders. I’ll check in to see how your day went tomorrow.
BONUS! Giuseppe Verdi and the Evil Eye:
https://www.classicfm.com/composers/verdi/guides/verdis-curse-evil-eye/
