There are scattered people who are trying to pass off the idea that Ludwig van Beethoven was a mulatto (actually this guy tries to say that Franz Josef Haydn was also African). Specifically they say that his mother was a Moor. The rumor stems from the fact that Beethoven was reportedly, occasionally referred to as “der Schwarzer”. While this does mean “the black” it hardly means “the Negro” or “the mulatto”.
We’ve all seen paintings of Beethoven and his family tree is fairly well documented. Her parents surnames were Keverich and Westorff, hardly names that evoke visions of Moorish folk. Even if there was some truth to this, the promoters of this fable are hoping to show that he is Negroid, but the Moors are a Northern African people of mixed ancestry (Berber and Arab). You can see how a typical Berber looks here. It’s easy to see that this would do nothing to support a Negroid Beethoven. Of course there is absolutely no evidence to support a Muslim (virtually all Moors are Muslim and were then also) ancestry either.
There is an interesting story concerning the interaction of Beethoven with a Mulatto though. There was a virtuoso violinist contemporary of Beethoven’s by the name of George Bridgetower whose mother was Polish and father was West Indian. His playing so impressed Beethoven that he dedicated a new violin sonata to Bridgetower and entitled it Sonata por uno mulaticco lunattico. “Wait,” you say, “I’ve never heard of that sonata.” Unfortunately, for Bridgetower, the dedication was short-lived. During drinks following a performance Bridgetower made a lurid remark about a lady, so infuriating Beethoven that he withdrew the dedication. Despite Bridgetower’s pleas, Beethoven steadfastly refused, and never interacted with Bridgetower again.
What is this sonata? It’s Violin Sonata No. 9, also known as the Kreutzer Sonata. The irony of the story is, while Bridgetower had reportedly played this piece flawlessly, when the arrangement was sent to Rudolphe Kreutzer, the virtuoso for whom it was named, he proclaimed the piece unplayable, and never performed it.
Wonderful! Many thanks for passing this along.
Thank you, Scorebored. Great to see you here.
[...] Hesperian has a very interesting post on the allegation that Beethoven was a mulatto. This is based on his occasionally being referred to as "der Schwarzer" (the black). It’s a patently absurd flying leap in the dark in the hope of finding at least one Negro genius in the world. I long ago lost count of how many pastors do the very same thing with "Simeon who is called Niger" in Acts 13. Dishonest Doug Wilson, for instance, sees in Simeon the justification for integrated churches and miscegenation. There is more proof that Beethoven was a Negro than that Simeon was a Negro, which is to say none at all. [...]
That is some fascinating stuff. I always heard he was a mulatto, because Negroes at my old school would try and say he was. Glad to know he wasn’t.
I am continually impressed by the content here at Hesperian. I’m bookmarking the site in the hopes of many future posts.
The Haydn claim is, if anything, even more preposterous.
you really dont know if beethoven was white with a little black because not all the distingushing black characteristics pass on in mulatto children go to mixedfolks.com and you will see a list of all the people who are mixed with different races you wouldnt beleive it genes are very complicated and cannot be ruled out by just looks have you ever seen an albinolisten there are mulattos with very thin noses derek jeter and thin lips it sounds like this web site is dedicated to white supremacy
im a 16 year old boy and disgusted with this racism ill never come back to this web site i was looking for beethoven music and came here but i see this is a place of devils we are all equal i hope god grants u mercy in the day of judgement
Well, Angel, I knew I would be called a racist sooner or later for defending my people, even in a way so small as this. I would love for you to try to show me what here could be defined as “racism” or “white supremacy”.
The burden of proof is on those, such as yourself, who are living under an absolutely baseless notion that a white European is sub-Saharan African. Refuting this hypothesis qualifies as neither racist nor supremacist.
If “we are all equal”, I suppose you would claim to have an ability to compose music which equals that of Beethoven. We are decidedly not equal! God has judiciously granted every single one of us differing abilities and gifts, and a denial of this truth is nothing more than a denial of the sovereignty of the Lord, and a meager attempt to place oneself in the position of God.
Lastly, I know you searched for something other than “Beethoven music”. Stop being ingenuous and playing the innocent. Your agenda is what led you here.
Love the site. Keep up the good work.
Good stuff. It’s true; the burden of proof is always, ALWAYS on the one putting forth an assertion, not on the skeptic. Why would anyone assume that a legendary 19th century German (or Austrian) composer would even be 1/64th Black? Sure, it’s possible, but unlikely in the extreme. Of course, my favorite example of how people forget or deny this inconvenient truth (about assertions) is the Holocaust. So-called deniers are always the ones expected to prove it DIDN’T happen, but that’s wrong, too. Someone’s got to prove it DID, but no one has to my knowledge.
The hurtful words used by angel have no place in a civilized dialog. It sounds like you are hostile to the idea of a white culture and a white homeland. Hopefully one day you will learn to respect all cultures and races. The hate needs to stop.
you know i really dont have to prove myself to you i was looking for chopin , beethoven and bach sheet music i have no reason to lie im true to myself and god i play the piano and have loved music from childhood remember the name ill make history and first of all anyone who knows music knows that beethovens music is very simple chopin is musically and technically superior and LASTLY did you not see someone posted something saying “the negroes at my old school”, im not black im spanish but come on we are all human you dont have to refer to someone as a mulatto or negro their H U M A N i really see something wrong in classifying people and you can use any fancy scientific words you want to refute what im saying but if your soooooo smart iknow you know theres something a little wrong with this
Angel’s all equal and crap, but has apparently never heard of punctuation. Plus, unless he’s from Spain, he’s most likely a mestizo, NOT “Spanish”.
Which reminds me, you should check to see if he’s here legally, has a green card or what. We may have a deportation case on our hands.
Better luck next time, Angel. The search terms people use to link to my blog show up in my tracking data. I’m pretty sure you used Beethoven and mulatto as your terms, not Beethoven and sheet music (which would be pretty unlikely to get you here. If you really want some sheet music, I suggest you try somewhere more like this: http://www.8notes.com/beethoven.asp .
Be honest with yourself here, Angel. You say, “i really see something wrong in classifying people,” but just before you said that you said, “im not black im spanish.” Why would you even take the time to point this out if you really didn’t believe in “classifying people”? You just contradicted yourself. Comprende?
As for the simplicity of Beethoven’s music, my piano is open to you anytime, Angel. I’m sure you’ll effortlessly breeze through ‘Hammerklavier’ in such a way as to have Van Cliburn kissing your feet. Besides everyone knows that Rachmaninoff and Liszt blow away Chopin. Honestly though, I’m sure many of Chopin’s works are more technically demanding than many of Beethoven’s, but in my opinion, the power of Beethoven’s music is unmatched. It’s not about how many notes there are or how difficult they are to play that most people care about. It’s what the music conveys.
Whoever wrote the, comment which is above this one, you seem to be picking on the guy that is a Mulatto, so to say you are not a bit of a racist would be contradicting yourself wouldnt it!.As everyone knows all Humans originate from Africa, so to say he has no black ancestors is pure stupidity, and how do you know he wasnt a Mulatto, I myself am a Mulatto with blue eyes and light brown hair and I am living proof that the black gene isnt always dominant.Personally I would say his mother may have been a moor.
“Picking on” someone who is disingenuous and uses contradictory language is hardly “racist”, just because this person happens to be “mulatto”, “Spanish”, or whatever the case may be. My comments had nothing to do with this person’s race.
You are hardly living proof of such a genetic phenomenon. Your dark parent must simply have been carrying “blue eye” genes. The genes for darker pigmentation, if inherited, would have almost certainly made your eyes brown. But remember eye color, and even more so, hair color have very complex inheritance patterns, and simple Mendelian genetics are not applicable.
“Everyone” doesn’t know that all humans originate from Africa. Certainly, if you believe Australopithecenes are our ancestors, you believe this. Also, what evidence would you have to propose that even all of the earliest Africans were black? It’s all conjecture. Some evolutionists argue that the earliest humans had pale skin like chimpanzees. I don’t believe this is a valid argument either.
Lastly, Moors are not black, as I covered above. They have mixed Arab and Mediterranean type ancestry. There could always be some wild chance that Beethoven’s mother was a Moor, but there is simply no evidence to support such a notion…..none.
Well aren`t you mister know it all, just kidding, but moors also have African ancestory along with mixed Arab ancestory, have you ever read Othello? does it really matter if he was half moor or not, there is know need to dedicate a whole web sight saying that he is not one, that is bordering on the lines of racism.
If you go back in history you will see that darker people were made appear to be of a lighter complexion as the years passed, for example “Jesus”, people try to make him out to have blonde hair and blue eye`s, when we know that`s simply not possible, him being from Isreal and all, so therefore you have no proof that didnt happen in beethovens case too.
You are correct in saying that there is African ancestry in the Moors. The problem with saying this, however, is that there is a huge variety of ethnicities on the African continent, so this really is saying very little.
Go to the homepage, if you really think that the entire site is devoted to this issue. I have quite a few other posts covering a much broader range of topics on the site.
Interesting argument concerning the idea of portraying people as having a lighter complexion over time. Apparently you missed the fact that all of these portraits were done from sittings with Beethoven, not posthumously.
We also can’t argue that a blond, blue eyed Jesus is impossible, as you say. We don’t know, nor does it ultimately matter. There is simply no evidence either way. In contrast there is some evidence to contradict the claims made for Beethoven having a mixed ancestry, while there is absolutely no evidence to support such claims.
Every time Shakespeare portrays a Moor it is with Black skin. Othello, Titus even in movies like Robin Hood, the Moor has Black skin. I think it is very possible that Beethoven was a Moor and Black. The word Moor actually means Black, lets not forget that. Northern Africa wasnt always ethnically mixed as much as it is today. Just like South Africa wasnt always ethnically mixed the way it is today. Just like Egypt wasnt always as ethnically mixed as it is today. And I kept reading that there was plenty of evidence to show that he was white and no evidence to show that he is black. The fact that he was called the Black Spaniard and a Moor is plenty of evidence to start a valid debate.
Let’s be honest and face that all music comes from Africa along with the first instruments. All people come from Africa, if you like that or not. Your leaders know our true history, but they hide it from you. Your racism is your main weakness. If you’re racist, you’re letting your mind be controlled by the capitalist government that feeds its rich off the poor.
Everything comes from Africa. Face it or else you’ll be far behind very soon.
Of course it matters wheteher Jesus was black or white simply because a lie has been told and it multiplies like the cells of a cancer infecting the minds of all who see this false image.Iam not saying Jesus was definatly black but he certainly would not have been white!Be honest to yourself history has been whitewashed! the hyroglyphics distinctly show the original egyptions having black negriod features.They try to hide it mutalating the noses of these statues etc. The Moors were described as being BLACK don’t insult my intelligence how can something be described as dark or black and in reality it not be so THINK!Black people rise and take your true position on this earth!.King Solomon who for those who don’t know Jesus is a decendant of, was described as black and comely (handsome).Are you going to tell me he was white also?
I’m completely behind you angel. “I always heard he was a mulatto, because Negroes at my old school would try and say he was. Glad to know he wasn’t” That sounds reaaally tolerant. If Beethoven had been mulatto would that really have mattered, and if it does than that qualifies as intolerance. ” It’s a patently absurd flying leap in the dark in the hope of finding at least one Negro genius in the world” I can’t believe no one sees any racism in that. Thats a disgusting thing to voice, and an extremely ignorant pathetic thing to think. and mIke bradley you really need to look at yourself if you think that deportation comment was acceptable or funny. wow
I have never understood the desire to claim an achievement for a race based purely on race. Why is it so important that Beethoven be purely white to someone? Special people with special talents exist in every single race. How these talents are honed is what brings excellence and genuis… not what race you are.
Being a mulatto isn’t what gave me my exposure to many different realities around the world. Being interested in the world was what did “it”. Intelligence stops where bigotry begins.
Laying claim to something you have not created… merely because of consequence… is boring and uninspired.
So Beethoven can/may be purely white/european; however, he was a magnicent individual because he recieved a gift from God. Not a gift from race.
Interesting that most of you read this article and accept if for fact with no truth. I do not claim at all to know the race of Beethoven. I don’t have much evidence on it. But I did read a lot of incorrect things in this article. Those things are as follows:
Moors = only White North African or Berber/Arabs.
This is totally untrue and can be deduced by simply looking up the meaning of the word Moor and its root and derivatives in all of the Romance languages. The meaning is black and refered to blacks specifically as well as all the diverse people of North Africa.
North Africa is not a white region, it is extremely diverse and thus using the term North African or even Berber to refer only to white North Africans is a misuse and manipulation of the term.
As usual I am not surprised that an article attempting to debunk something of color is using manipulations. I am not a fan of stealing culture as people have claimed all people who attempt to enlighten the truth in history are accused if it pertains to anything black. But I would appreciate some unbiased, real, correct data to assure me otherwise.
This article fails to do that and I am saddened that people are still so easily swayed. I have read the article that linked under the very irrational word “idiots” and determined that it offers a lot more actual evidence such as descriptions of Beethoven by his peers and even and anthropologist. It is written with out calling people idiots or manipulating terms in order to leave out entire groups of people as this one is.
Despite the better quality of the work I am not convinced either way because quotes and descriptions can also be forged, non of us were there and I have not taken the time to verify the sources of the descriptions of Beethoven. But I will say this, people with solid evidence and unbiased facts rarely need to resort to insulting people who disagree with them, because data don’t lie.
You may have succeeded again in convincing the feeble minded but educated persons typically dig deeper than “those idiots” and look at this one (1) image of a Berber as “proof” that all north Africans are white. So laughable. The Berber woman pictured could possibly have a dark, black Berber as a neighbor!
Please people do your own research!
apologies i mean “with no proof” not “with no truth” I was multi tasking and hadn’t the chance to proof. That typo is significant enough to skew my meaning.
just saw this site and quite clearly the author personally knew Beethoven and his parents since he absolutely knows that Beethoven was pure aryan. as the jewish saying goes ‘…it takes a wise man to know his own father…’. dont worry your secret is safe with me!
anyone of you racist’s asses are more than welcome to respond. i totally agree that this site may not have been started based on racism, however, it seems to have gone that direction. no matter what you say terms like, negroe, and responding to angel with “comprende”, are absolutely racist terms. i am 100% caucasian, and also totally offended by the content on this site. good luck with ” judgement day”. i wouold almost bet that the creator of this site has relatives, or descendants that raped native american indians, so just keep in mind you are not “pure”, you are not “clean”, every one in this world has skeletons in their closets, and realistically none of you have a clue about beethovens descendents, unless you have super special time travel capabilities, eat sh*t. THANX.
This site should be taken down. The whole thing is a bunch of ignorant, unfounded garbage. Your language and wording when referring to BLACK people is completely disrespectful. We aren’t “negroids”. BLACK will do just fine. Sites like this and people who run sites like these fill children’s minds with the same kind of backwards bull that provokes hate crimes and racism. You reap what you sow.
I can’t help responding to Aqueelah. Do a little research yourself, so that you can avoid “manipulations”. Did you actually look up the etymology of the word Moor? (Not that I’m sure what the word is that the German’s would have used for Moor. Saying that Beethoven was a Moor is a work of the revisionists. The translation of der Schwarzer is the black.)
Here is the etymology of Moor from etymonline.com:
I didn’t misrepresent anything, but will admit that using the term “idiot” really doesn’t belong in a persuasive essay, and I have removed it from the text. I’m simply trying to show that there really isn’t any plausible evidence to support the idea that Beethoven was of African descent (either sub-Saharan or Northern), plain and simple. Any “Aryan” or “racist” ideas anyone is drawing from this post are their own. Comprende is Spanish, it’s not racist, perhaps sarcastic, perhaps rude, but not racist. “The negro” is used to convey the point, and does much better than saying “the sub-Saharan African”.
sehr gut, Wunderbar about mentioning the Bridgetower connection (which proves that he didn’t have trouble admiring the artistic ability of an african descendant) but some fe errata for both sides.
Actually you forget the tuaregs that live in the same region as the berbers and the fact that morocco, algiers and Libya were important slave trading centres. Yes, Malcolm X ,Muslims also traded slaves. So that’s how through integration that through slaves and tuaregs these people added alittle “colour” to their cheeks. As well as the desert sun. Then again as you know the moors in Spain were headed by the Olmeyda moarab branch of Mohammed’s descendants that fled Bagdad over an issue of claiing control over the title of rulership of the Islam world. Hence why today we have Sunnite and Shi’ite muslims.
Then again which explains the dark features of the island and coastal mediterraneans due to contact with these Saracens.
On the other hand , Beethoven being called black came from an african american by the last name Rogers. His assumption came from the fact that the Van Beeethovens (beet garden) having come from a Spanish Teritory might have had onorrish blood (like the southern spanish). But first of all there are no direct spanish beethoven ancestry or any Mamaluke type or Morroccan mercenary. For that matter there’s always the chance that the alleged spanish descendant in an area rampant with rape by the spanish occupiers under the duke of alva could have been northern spanish, catalunyan, galician or even basque.
If you look at the portrait of Maria Magdalena Keverich, she does look spanish but more basque or catalunyan than Andalusian.
Now the fact that Beethoven was called black may come from the fact of
a ) His mood
b) his tanned features due to his outdoorsman lifestyle of vigorus walks to distinguish himself from his detested noblemen
c) a nickname derived from where he lived the schwarzspanien house which was called that way because it belonged to an order of “black” robed spanish benedictine monks.
So there is nothing to prove any hint of being the descendant of an andulsian with moroccan slave trader blood with tuareg or slave ancestry. (kinda like Antonio Banderas)
So far only the Empress Josephine Bonaparte, Alexandre Dumas and Alexander Pushkin can be claimed to have black ancestry to trump any nordic, germanic,celtic, slavic etnocentrist.
*there isn’t any direct spanish Beethoven ancestry or traceable descent from a dark skin morrocan or mamaluke expeditionary force soldier.
+Almoradavid
I’m a real Berber and I know Berber people really well. Berbers and Moors are white people, there no such thing as a black Moor or Berber, my whole life I have never seen a black person in my city or town or any place I traveled in North Africa, the first time I ever saw a black person was when I went to college as there were African students from Nigeria and other black countries. If my ancestors were black where did they go? Have they simply vanished into thin air? I would ask any one who does not believe me to travel to North Africa and search for these black moors if he can find any. Zine Eddine Zidane the famous French Football (soccer) player is of Berber origin and has typical Berber looks.
is it all so important. I guess for many people it seems to be. “White” people do a lot of bad things and so do “blacks”. Why would they go through all this to proof that Beethoven was white if he was not.
There are wonderful people in all races. I would not mind if Beethoven was black, half black or 25% black. But there seems to be not too much evidence that he was. Enjoy the music for it’s own sake. God is neither white nor black and I am sure he hopes that we all come together and not call our brothers and sister names because they don’t have the same color of skin.
Actually, it is wrong to refer to them as Northern African but rather as North African. North African is a label in the same way Middle Eastern is one, when you say Northern, it sounds more geographical. However, the addition of two non-North African countries into the Arab League, Mauritania and Sudan, is what often leads Black people to think Moors are Black. They see Mauritanians, who are a sub-saharan people, and think oh, Blacks are Arab. In truth, Mauritanians and Sudanese people, while they are considered “Arab” today, are not considered “Arab” by Arabs. That is to say, in North Africa and the Middle East, they are considered Black, or 3abeed, or aswad- all meaning Black.
Beethoven: Revealing His True Identity
http://www.africawithin.com/kwaku/beethoven.htm
http://www.nathanielturner.com/beethoventheblackspaniard.htm
In the 15th and 16th century, written history underwent a massive campaign of misinformation and deception. With the European slave trade in full swing, Afrikans were transported to various parts of the world and were stripped of every aspect of their humanity, and in most of western civilization, were no longer considered human. This triggered a wholesale interpretation of history that methodically excluded Afrikans from any respectful mention, other than a legacy of slavery. This can result in being taught, or socialized, from one perspective. In this instance, historical information tends to flow strictly from a European perspective. No judgment of right or wrong is being made here, only that the breadth was very narrow in scope.
In an age where history is seriously being rewritten, new information is coming forth that is shocking intellectual sensitivities. What was once considered written in stone is now melting away with the discovery of facts that heretofore have been hidden or omitted; things so different that they are generally classified as controversial or unusual.
What specifically is being referenced, is the true identity of Ludwig van Beethoven, considered Europe’s greatest classical music composer. Directly, Beethoven was a black man. Specifically, his mother was a Moor, that group of Muslim Africans who conquered parts of Europe–making Spain their capital–for some 800 years.
In order to make such a substantial statement, presentation of verifiable evidence is compulsory. Let’s start with what some of Beethoven’s contemporaries and biographers say about his appearance. Frau Fisher, a close friend of Beethoven, described him with “blackish-brown complexion.” Frederick Hertz, German anthropologist, used these terms to describe him: “Negroid traits, dark skin, flat, thick nose.”
Emil Ludwig, in his book “Beethoven,” says: “His face reveals no trace of the German. He was so dark that people dubbed him Spagnol [dark-skinned].” Fanny Giannatasio del Rio, in her book “An Unrequited Love: An Episode in the Life of Beethoven,” wrote “His somewhat flat broad nose and rather wide mouth, his small piercing eyes and swarthy [dark] complexion, pockmarked into the bargain, gave him a strong resemblance to a mulatto.” C. Czerny stated, “His beard–he had not shaved for several days–made the lower part of his already brown face still darker.”
Following are one word descriptions of Beethoven from various writers: Grillparzer, “dark”; Bettina von Armin, “brown”; Schindler, “red and brown”; Rellstab, “brownish”; Gelinek, “short, dark.”
Newsweek, in its Sept. 23, 1991 issue stated, “Afrocentrism ranges over the whole panorama of human history, coloring in the faces: from Australopithecus to the inventors of mathematics to the great Negro composer Beethoven.”
Of course, in the world of scholarship there are those who take an opposite view. In the book The Changing Image of Beethoven by Alessandra Comini, an array of arguments are presented. Donald W. MacArdle, in a 1949 Musical Quarterly article came to the conclusion that there was “no Spanish, no Belgian, no Dutch, no African” in Beethoven’s genealogy. Dominque-Rene de Lerma, the great musical bibliologist, came to the same conclusion.
Included in this amazing discussion is a reference made of Beethoven’s teacher, Andre de Hevesy, in his book, Beethoven The Man. “Everyone knows the incident at Kismarton, or Eisenstadt, the residence of Prince Esterhazy, on his birthday. In the middle of the first allegro of Haydn’s symphony, His Highness asked the name of the author. He was brought forward.
“‘What!’ exclaimed the Prince, ‘the music is by the blackamoor (a black Moor). Well, my fine blackamoor, henceforth thou art in my service.’
“‘What is thy name?’
“‘Joseph Haydn.’”
We have all been fed false information for reasons previously mentioned. It is no secret that scholars, writers, critics, advertisers and Hollywood have changed history for their own specific reasons. What is uniquely different in the intellectual landscape, people of color now have an army of sophisticated scholars to combat the continuation and dissemination of false information that has been accepted as standard, as well as the canon in academia.
It is hoped that the revealing of this information will motivate others to critically look at all data flowing in their brains for authenticity. Hollywood is notorious for changing facts. I am not saying to hate Hollywood, but we do have to hold it accountable for disseminating inaccurate depictions, especially when it changes the course of history, by which our children are influenced.
1.) Louis Letronne, Beethoven, 1814, pencil drawing.
2.) Blasius Hofel, Beethoven, 1814, monochrome facsimile of engraving after a pencil drawing by Louis Letronne.
3.) Engraving by Blasius Hofel, Beethoven, 1814, color facsimile of engraving after a pencil drawing by Louis Letronne. This engraving was regarded in Beethoven’s circle as particularly lifelike. Beethoven himself thought highly of it, and gave several copies to his friends.
©2003Kwaku Person-Lynn
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Beethoven, the Black Spaniard
By Deborah D. Moseley
Just how does an individual with a Teutonic surname born in eighteenth-century Germany acquire the moniker “The Black Spaniard”? One of the homes in which Beethoven resided in Vienna, Austria, the music capitol of European Music at that time, was called the “Schwarzspanierhaus,” the “House of the Black Spaniard.” In the book entitled Beethoven by David Jacobs (p. 133), is a facsimile of this non-extant building, which, according to the author, was formerly a monastery. The center facade has the sign “I Resley,” the left facade is unlabelled. But the right facade is labelled, “Zum Schwarzspanier,” “To the Black Spaniard.”
Such an individual living amongst a land of predominantly White citizenry must have had some apparent physical and ethnic characteristics and strains in his heritage to not only be branded “The Spaniard,” but also “The Black Spaniard.” Additionally, in a PBS presentation about Beethoven, the host and narrator, Russian Actor Peter Ustinov, said that Beethoven would become angry when people called him “inferior.” Clearly, he must have been an exotic and at times disparaged presence in Germany and Austria.
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 -1827) was born in Bonn, Germany, but his family originated in Belgium, which was then called Flanders. Interestingly, his family name, as noble and grand as it sounds, is a Flemish one quaintly and literally meaning “beet garden.” For over 200 years, Belgium/Flanders had been occupied by Spain. One need only look at a map to see how close in proximity Southern Spain is to Northern Africa, separated by the Strait of Gibraltar, which, from a geological standpoint, appears to have forged its way through an erstwhile connection between the two terrains.
Africans had easy access to Spain, the zenith being the 700 year reign of the Moors in that country. (“Moor” comes from Greek/Latin root words meaning “Black” or “dark-skinned.”) The protracted Black presence in Spain apparently protracted its presence in Belgium/Flanders along with the Spanish. Thus, Beethoven inherited this Black Spanish strain. Which leads to a very critical question: Why the proliferation of spurious portraits that hide his ethnic heritage as a man of color?
Beethoven was one of the most innovative and amazing musical geniuses, ever. His deafness made that amazing genius even more so. As a Black woman and a musician who has spent a lifetime listening to, studying, and performing his music, I believe his music reveals a cultural connection to his African ancestry. In the Blom edition of Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians, p. 20, is stated, “A rhythmic or time-active cast of thought was inherent in his nature,” and “(n)umerous examples could be given from familiar music in which an off-beat accent converts an ordinary into an extraordinary passage.” The distinctive characteristic of off-beat accents, or syncopation, is intrinsic and integral to Black people’s music making, which gives it a unique vitality and kinetic energy.
My favorite examples of this rhythmic trait are his mammoth string quartet known as “The Great Fugue,” which sounds “way ahead of its time” and foretells 20th century atonality. Also, the second movement of the last Piano Sonata he wrote, Op. 111 in C minor, sounds like the genesis of jazz. I believe he had exquisite foresight as to how music would evolve in the future. He was an astounding piano improvisateur, which moved Mozart to prophesy, “He will give the world something worth listening to.” The last movement of the “Waldstein” Sonata, op. 53, has a syncopated bass, which might inspire gospel music clapping. It is also the same off-beat pattern used in reggae and Hip- Hop music.
Beethoven makes prolific use of the syncopating kettle drum in much of his orchestral music, such as the dramatic Symphony No. 5, which contains one of the world’s most famous themes, and the majestic “Emperor” Piano Concerto No. 5. He was the first composer to invigorate European Classical Music with prodigious use of this decidedly inherent African rhythmic trait. He was also one of the first composers to deviate from the musical template of eighteenth-century rules and regulations. In his Fourth Piano Concerto No. 4, the piano begins the opening, as opposed to traditionally beginning with the orchestra. The “Waldstein” Sonata begins in G major, even though it is written in C major.
He was the first composer to include a chorus in a symphony, which became known as the “Choral” Symphony No. 9, the theme of the hymn “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee.” He was also one of the first composers to inject his personal thunderous temperament in his music, as evidenced in such piano works as the “Appassionata” Sonata, Op. 57 and the fittingly named “Tempest” Sonata, op.31, no.2. He was the first composer to explore and exploit the virtuosic possibilities of the piano, which necessitated piano makers’ building stronger, more durable instruments.
His was the first piano music to require the pianist to play the trill and the melody with one hand, as in the “Hammerklavier” Sonata where he took piano music where it had never gone before. (It reminds me of Robert Johnson, who played the chords and the melody simultaneously on the blues guitar). With his daring musical innovations, formidable piano technique, the injection of deep musical subjectivity as opposed to abstract musical objectivity, he rendered the composer free from stilted, restrictive dogma and ushered in the Romantic Period.
He gave inspiration to Liszt, Schumann, and Chopin. I opine that in the ugly throes of Institutional Racism during Beethoven’s lifetime when Chattel Slavery in America was in full operation and Europe was preparing to subjugate the entire continent of Africa for itself, the European Colonialist and Imperialist Masters found it necessary to obscure certain facts in order to justify keeping an entire people in bondage and sub-human status.
The U.S. Constitution even slated Black people as being only 3/5 human. Such an imperative necessitated academic fraud. The dubious system that portrayed the Ancient Egyptians as White people is the same dubious system that portrayed Beethoven, one of the greatest composers ever, as White. The same dubious system is still intact, which would motivate Hollywood to give false ethnic representations in the Beethoven movies ‘Immortal Beloved’, and ‘Beethoven Lives Upstairs.’ Fortunately, the world does consist of honest people who were and are willing to nullify historic prevarications.
In Alexander Thayer’s Life of Beethoven, vol.1, p. 134, the author states, “there is none of that obscurity which exalts one to write history as he would have it and not as it really was. The facts are too patent.” On this same page, he states that the German composer Franz Josef Haydn was referred to as a “Moor” by Prince Esterhazy, and Beethoven had “even more of the Moor in his looks.” On p. 72, a Beethoven contemporary, Gottfried Fischer, describes him as round-nosed and of dark complexion. Also, he was called “der Spagnol” (the Spaniard).
Other “patent” sources, of which I found many, include, but are not limited to, Beethoven by Maynard Solomon, p.78. He is described as having “thick, bristly coal-black hair” (in today’s parlance, we proudly call it “kinky”) and a “ruddy-complexioned face.” In Beethoven: His Life and Times by Artes Orga, p.72, Beethoven’s pupil, Carl Czerny of the “School of Velocity” fame, recalls that Beethoven’s “coal-black hair, cut a la Titus, stood up around his head [sounds almost like an Afro]. His black beard…darkened the lower part of his dark-complexioned face.”
Also, in The Changing Image of Beethoven by Alexandra Comini, p.31, the author relates the Czerny account using the word ‘bristled’ and ’shaggy’ in reference to the composer’s hair. On the same page, a composite description is presented based on eye-witness accounts: “his complexion was brownish, his hair was thick, black and bristly.” I suggest that his physical appearance was so strikingly uncommonplace, that those who knew him and had seen him could do no other than give an accurate description.
According to Alexander Thayer, p. 238, “A true and exhaustive picture of Beethoven as a man would present an almost ludicrous contrast to that which is generally entertained as correct. Sculptor and painter in turn have idealized the work of his predecessor, until the composer stands before us like a Homeric god—until those who knew him personally, could they return to earth, would never suspect that the grand form and noble features . . . are intended to represent . . . their old friend.”
According to the Sadie edition of Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians, p.392, the most approximate impression we can expect of the composer’s physical appearance is the 1814 engraving by Blasius Hofel and the 1812 life mask, which clearly reveals his broad, flat nose (which can be seen in the Jacobs book, pp.142-143, the Hofel portrait on p. 150.) The author of this edition of Grove’s, p. 392, insists that the “idealized portraits and busts . . . owe nothing to literal or even to poetic truth.” So a picture is not always worth a thousand words.
In a just and equitable society a person’s skin color is supposed to be of no consideration. Beethoven was a phenomenal genius and during the many years of childhood and adult life when I was unaware of his ethnic heritage, being constantly confronted by persistent and insistent portrayals of his image as White which I thought were correct, that just did not matter. I saw him as a great composer whose music I enjoyed listening to and performing.
Unfortunately, the European oppressors, colonialists, and imperialists who instituted a universal system based on color superiority and color inferiority, falsifying and suppressing evidence to exalt one people and debase another have made it matter. Such perpetration of academic theft was based on color, which makes color a major consideration in the imperative of seeking academic justice for the people whose great and noble past was stolen and hidden from them to prevent their aspiring to a great and noble present and future. It is time to build that just and equitable society that redresses academic pilferage, recognizing the color-blindness of genius and the historic contributions of all people thereby engendering understanding, respect, and equality.
posted 15 February 2007
the moors werent black, so beethoven wasn’t black, if you want to know how did a moor looked like look at the present day population of morocco, i im iberian and i can assure you that doesnt exist such a thing as a black iberian,these are images of moroccans the descendents of the moors http://www.nsmb.com/images/videos/morocco/morocco_5.jpg
http://www.elkarya.com/images/longshot.jpg
http://www.cs.mcgill.ca/~ydaoud/summer2001/maroc/07_berbers.jpg
and they can even be blond
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/6577/berberchildwh1.jpg
http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/bouchrafamily.jpg
the moors generally were darker than europeans but they were not black like sub-saharans, in fact black people were enslaved by the moors.
the moors are descendents of berbers and arabs neither of them were black
THE BLACK VAN BEETHOVEN
I would kindly like to share my humble findings.
There are portraits of Van Beethoven which match the personal descriptions of him as ’schwartze.’ They show a very dark skinned man. Just as you find many white portraits, which I consider fakes. This shows that black skinned Europeans were often portrayed as white’s, which means you cannot always tell what a person or his relatives looked like, by the published portraits.
For my research I have collected many personal descriptions of elite Europeans from the Renaissance 1500-1789 like kings and queens (Mary of Scots, Charles II Stuart), nobility (Sir Monck of Albemarle, George Keppel) and intellectuals (Voltaire and Rousseau) and have found, to my utter surprise, that there was a black and coloured elite which despotically oppressed the white majority. This ‘Reversed Apartheid’ formally ended with The French Revolution in 1789.
The confusion stems from the decision to hide this episode and prevent people from claiming superiority and rights on the basis of their skin colour. This is also the reason we have racism against blacks as this black and coloured elite symbolised their Bleu Blood with the extensive use of The Moor, mostly a young Black boy.
Egmond Codfried
It’s amazing
Heh. Nice. I want make the best use of my successes spirit Oh, good joke) What is a zebra? 26 sizes larger than an “A” bra.
No one called beethoven “Der swartze” . He was called “Der Spangol” or “Spangy” because he was a little more tan than most germanics. But this happens once in a while with Nordic people naturally. It is the result of producing more melanin and that is the reason Why Italians and Spanish (and everybody else who is dark in Europe) is darker. In the case of people who come from traditionally fair skin Communities it is just a rare thing that happens once in a while. No need to worry, in fact I am sure some Nordics would like to be able to tan better. I once met a welsh Woman who I asked if she was an American Indian. She said “Oh no, I am Welsh, it runs in my family!”It has nothing to do with not being white.
http://www.egyptsearch.com/forums/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=15;t=000529
Check out my BLUE BLOOD IS BLACK BLOOD thread. Especially now that Barack Hussein Obama was chosen, we need to take another look at the role of Blacks in history. Their history spans 10.000 years, with only the last 500 years of slavery. Not enough to define them I’d say. Blacks were called Blue Men and then Moors and only around 1770 colour was used to define a nation or a race. And only then and in the 19th century Blacks were deemed inferior because of their Black skin. Even in the American Colonies Blacks and Whites were slave-masters and slave-owners, of Black- as well as White-slaves. In my many pieces I make clear that the symbol for Blue Blood was The Moor, in European art always a pitch-black African with Classical African features. This whole divide between SSA and North African is just a ploy to deny that Europe was dominated by a despotic coloured race (1500-1789); the Nobility and Royal families, or that Blacks built the pyramids. This domination by Black and Coloured European Kings and the subsequent French Revolution is why we have racism agains Blacks today. Fear!
EgmondCodfried@hotmail.com