Considered to be among the most renowned Classical music, Ludwig Van Beethoven’s compositions have been attributed to multiple facts. For instance, Beethoven’s biography narrates hardships the composer had to overcome during his lifetime. Consequently, whilst his music is appreciated in genres outside classical music, debates emerge on the life of Ludwig Van Beethoven. The most prominent subject of said debates is the musician’s heritage. Whereas some argue the man to be white because of his German citizenship, others refute the claims. According to those against the ideology of Beethoven being white, “there has been a conspiracy on the part of European-Americans to conceal Beethoven’s alleged black heritage” (Beethoven Center San José State University). This research paper seeks to determine the major arguments behind Beethoven’s ethnicity and in turn, offer the counterarguments to the same.
Ludwig Van Beethoven’s birth date has always been a debatable issue, a fact Kinderman blames on the composer’s “birth year delusion” (19). However, the date was narrowed down to December 1770 in Germany’s city of Bonn. Beethoven’s love for music has been attributed to generations of composers including his grandfather and father, with the latter acting as his first music teacher (Kinderman 20). By the end of the eighteenth century, Beethoven’s acknowledgement as a music composer was cemented by his producing the “Six String Quartet op. 18” (Kinderman 59-60). During his lifetime, Beethoven was functionally deaf in 1817 when he was forty-six years old (Kinderman 201), but according to the man, the symptoms began between 1797 and 1798 (Beethoven Center San José State University). Consequently, Kinderman attests to the composer’s use of his eyes only during rehearsals, as he was too deaf to hear the beautiful music (294). From a life of abuse at the hands of his father, as evidenced by Beethoven’s “impulse to disown or deny his father” (Kinderman, 19), Beethoven grew up an angry man. Multiple cases are recorded of his angry outbursts and some claim his abilities as a composer were channeled from his livid emotions. Beethoven died on March 26, 1827, during a thunderstorm (Kinderman 325).
During his life, the man was considered white as evidenced by his accomplishments and the society’s acceptance of his work (Beethoven Center San José State University). It is important to note that the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were marked with slavery trade between European countries and the African continent. Thus, slaves were mere property of the white men and could only serve as slaves. On the other hand, if a black managed to gain his freedom, which was rare, the white man’s society was bound to shun said individual from any events and opportunities deemed rightful for the whites. There are claims of proof that Ludwig descended from a black ancestry on his mother’s side of the gene pool. In “Black Beethoven and the Racial Politics of Music History” Rinehart argues that “somehow a single germ of blackness trickled down to our beloved Ludwig” (117) because of the Spaniards association with “North Africa through the Moors” (117). To accompany the historical information presented by different pro black Ludwig, were the personal accounts given on the physical appearance of the composers. For instance, Rinehart goes further and describes Beethoven’s hair to have been “thick, bristly coal-black” (120) a trait associated with African American people. The personal accounts given by those that met the composer are perhaps the strongest of the supposed proof to the African ancestry of Ludwig Van Beethoven. However, nobody could confirm the man was the descendant of the Moor. In fact, during his lifetime, Europe was keen identifying the moor and blacks (Beethoven Center San José State University). Even in the United States, those of color were easily identified because whites were considered lighter in comparison to their African American counterparts.
The second argument to Beethoven’s heritage finds basis in his music where it is argued “Beethoven’s opus was inherently African in spirit and even anticipated jazz” (Rinehart 120). In other words, Beethoven’s compositions contained more of an African theme than that of a European. For instance, Jazz is considered an African beat and his “unfinished Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Opus 111, which “sounds like the genesis of jazz” (Rinehart 120). However, Beethoven’s personal experiences were the source of his compositions. For instance, in “Beethoven” Kinderman quotes the music composer saying “Music, verily, is the mediator between the life of the mind and the senses” (147). Thus, it is evident that the composer believed he depended on his personal traits, rather than his background, to compose his masterpieces. On that note, Beethoven was partially deaf whilst the composing of the aforementioned works. Consequently, there was no way to guarantee that he was influenced by the music composed by those of African origin.
In addition, all traditions are passed down from one generation to another. In this case, songs pertaining to the African culture must have originated from an older generation. In addition, to learn the ways of any tradition, one must spend time with the natives of the same, and said time has to be sufficient for successful results. There are no cases of Beethoven spending time with the Moors or tribes of African descent. In fact, all his life, the man was surrounded by white European culture. There is also a documentation of all the people that were important in his career, including his father, and they are all Europeans (Kinderman 19). It is therefore clear that one is not born with knowledge pertaining to a certain culture. Instead, the elderly are expected to teach the young on ways of the community and the cultural norms. Since the only means for such lessons to take place require direct and lengthy interactions, Beethoven could not have learnt anything pertaining to black music composition without interacting with its people. During Beethoven’s lifetime, all the races kept to themselves as white people were considered the superior of all races. Thus, a white man interacting with the black people would have made the headlines if not his biographies. A good instance is Beethoven’s collaboration with renowned violinist George Bridgetower (Beethoven Center San José State University). Said collaboration is well documented, and there is proof of Bridgetower’s African origin.
Conclusively, there are no records of Beethoven’s ancestry prior that of his grandfather who was also a musician. In addition, the presented arguments fail to consider the man’s life at the household, community, and state levels. To argue that Beethoven was African fails to hold any merit to the definition of race. The aforementioned merit ought to have come from the friend’s the composer kept and his own appearance. For instance, by presenting his hair as evidence without touching it and confirming it is indeed course is unreliable. White men have black hair and in some cases, the hair can be tightly curled with knots. In such a case, the hair might appear ‘black’ instead of the normal straight hair possessed by the whites. Finally, yet importantly, attributing certain behavior and types of music to a specific race is more of a stereotype than evidence to ethnicity. Besides, it is possible the man heard some ‘black’ music and gained inspiration from the same. In such a situation, Beethoven is not a carrier of the African gene simply because of his appreciation of the race’s music compositions.
Works Cited
Beethoven Center San José State University. Frequently Asked Questions about Beethoven. 12 July 2013. Web. 19 October 2014.
Kinderman, William. Beethoven. Carlifonia: University of California Press, 1995. Print.
Rinehart, Nicholas T. "Black Beethoven and the Racial Politics of Music History." Transition 112 (2013): 117-130. Print.
