The Silent Maestro: Overcoming Life’s Cruelest Irony to Write Music History

There are a few minds so extraordinary, so relentless in their pursuit of greatness, that they manage to leave an indelible mark on the world. This is one of them. But what happens when life, with all its cruelty, throws every conceivable obstacle in their path?

Imagine a genius whose very essence was entwined with sound—only to have that gift mercilessly stripped away. This is the story of one such individual, a prodigious talent whose life was a symphony of struggles, yet whose legacy continues to resonate through the centuries. Join us as we unravel the untold tale of a man who, against all odds, composed some of the most beautiful music the world has ever known... in complete and utter silence.

This episode is a rewrite from an episode of An Ounce, originally released in 2019, titled Lewis and His Unfair Life.

Credits and Attributions
• Production, narration, writing, and final editing by Jim Fugate
• Music: World's Sunrise, Fruits of Life by Jimena Contreras, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr-lbj7q0jsY9gsGHoTTkmg
• Music: Symphony No. 5 by Beethoven
• Photo: Stephen Hawking on 2 March 2012. elhombredenegro, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
• Photo: Albert Einstein, 1947. Photograph by Orren Jack Turner, Princeton, N.J. Modified with Photoshop by PM_Poon and later by Dantadd., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
• Photo: Nikola Tesla color. pulsepowernow.com, FAL, via Wikimedia Commons
• Photo: Marie Curie. Public Domain, but first time in color in 2020., CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
• Photo: Isaac Newton. Godfrey Kneller, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
• Photo: Ludwig van Beethoven. Older. Joseph Karl Stieler, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
• Photo: Ludwig van Beethoven. Young. Joseph Willibrord Mahler, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
• Video: Drill Instructor Gives Speech – United States Marine Corps Recruit Training. Sgt John C. Lamb, USMC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
• Image: Moses Strikes the Rock, c. 1896-1902, by James Jacques Joseph Tissot (French, 1836-1902), at the Jewish Museum, New York. Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
• Additional images and videos through iStock and Getty by subscription, as well as images and visuals created by Jim Fugate.