Musical Genius and Mental Illness: What’s the Link?
Rachmaninoff dedicated his second piano concerto to his psychiatrist.
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Research supports the idea that creatives of all types are over-represented in the population dealing with mood disorders and other psychiatric challenges. Certainly some of the world’s greatest musical masterpieces were composed by musicians who struggled with mental illness. Was it a source of inspiration for their creativity, or did they turn to art to help them heal? Richard Kogan, a psychiatrist and concert pianist, tells stories of the many composers defined both by genius and mental illness and plays transfixing excerpts from some of their greatest works.
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