The pathobiography and death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: from legend to reality.

Mozart, perhaps one of the greatest geniuses of modern age, died mysteriously at the age of 35 in Vienna in 1791. The causes of his death are still somewhat obscure and debated since we do not have any documentation acceptable by current scientific standards. Inevitably, the conclusions reached are highly debatable. In the present article the various interpretations of Mozart's death are taken into consideration-from his possible poisoning to causes of death more acceptable by the present diagnostic criteria. We suggest that the terminal cause of death was brain hemorrhaging or stroke, complicated by broncopneumonia and associated with renal failure induced by proliferative glomerulonephritis and glomerulosclerosis.