In the summer of George Floyd rioting in 2020, it was a time to “decolonize” the curriculum and pretty much every other aspect of society.  This didn’t bode well for arguably the best classical composer in history, Ludwig Van Beethoven.  However, not only was the primacy of figures such as Beethoven attacked; even more bizarrely, the chorus grew louder arguing that Beethoven was actually…black.  So is there evidence for this rather shocking claim?  Not really. 

First of all, it might be relevant to mention that Beethoven himself was not racist, not even for his time.  This is evidenced by his collaboration with a half-black violinist, George Augustus Polgreen Bridgetower, as we shall discuss.  As author of Why Beethoven Norman Lebrecht puts it: 

“We can prove that Beethoven has no prejudice.  Blacks, whites or Jews, all are the same to him” (161). 

This Lebrecht attributes to Beethoven’s sense of himself as an outsider, a quality which perhaps made Beethoven sympathetic to Jews, with whom he also consorted.   

The claim of Beethoven’s black ancestry boils down to the fact that Beethoven had one maternal grandparent from Spain.  From this, it is extrapolated that the grandparent *might* have had Moroccan blood, given that the Arabs had colonized Spain in the Middle Ages.  This is the thin gruel which leads to the claim that Beethoven was “black.”  It tends to ignore the fact that Morrocons themselves are not exactly black (if anyone reading this is Moroccan, feel free to weigh in on the comments on this point).

The “evidence” of Beethoven’s black ancestry is a “swarthy” complexion and “frizzy” hair.  Lebrecht continues: 

“His jaw is square, his lips thick, his nose flat and his eyes dark” (162).  

Of course these are facial qualities a European might have to some extent without the implication that he is not 100 percent European.  And by the way, this is not to say there’s anything wrong with being of mixed ancestry, and Beethoven himself did not seem to think so given his collaboration with Bridgetower.  It’s just to say that sometimes White people may have a wide nose or dark eyes. 

As for Bridgetower, he was a close companion of Beethoven for some time, and the two even performed together (with Beethoven on piano of course).  Beethoven originally dedicated one of his sonatas to him, entitled “Sonata per una mulaticco lunatic” (Sonata for a mad mulatto).  However, due to a falling out–apparently Bridgetower had betrayed Beethoven over a woman–the sonata’s dedication was switched to someone else, and therefore Bridgetower’s name is less remembered by history. 

In conclusion, Beethoven was not black.  Why people say this is just to trigger classical music enthusiasts, as Beethoven is a hero and a kind of demi-god of European culture.  I mean, we’re allowed to have our heroes too, just like every other group trumpets their heroes free from scurrilous accusations.

Works Cited

Lebrecht, Norman. Why Beethoven. NY: Pegasus Books, 2023.

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