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Hans Rott (1 August 1858–25 June 1884) was an Austrian composer and organist. His music is little-known today, though he received high praise in his time from the likes of Gustav Mahler and Anton Bruckner. Rott’s mind snapped in October 1880, whilst on a train journey. He was reported to have threatened another passenger with a revolver, claiming that Brahms had filled the train with dynamite. Rott was committed to a mental hospital in 1881, where despite a brief recovery, he sank into depression. By the end of 1883 a diagnosis recorded ‘hallucinatory insanity, persecution mania—recovery no longer to be expected.’ He died of tuberculosis in 1884, aged only 25. Many well-wishers, including Bruckner, attended Rott’s funeral at the Zentralfriedhof in Vienna.

[Inspired by a blog post by Zdenka Pregelj]