Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post documents examples of tweets from the
"Beethoven" tweeter thread that was on of the top ten tweeter threads
in the United States on June 18, 2020.
Article excerpts on this subject (from that date &
other dates) are also included in this post.
The content of this post is presented for socio-cultural and
historical purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Beethoven for his musical legacy. Thanks to other
composers who are mentioned in this post and thanks to all those who are quoted
in this post.
****
EXAMPLES OF TWEETS ABOUT BEETHOVEN AND OTHER BLACK EUROPEAN
COMPOSERS
Pancocojams Editor's note:
WARNING: This twitter thread contains some profanity as well
as the frequent use of the "n word". Many of the tweets are comedic,
but there are some serious tweets in that mix.
This compilation presents some of those serious tweets about
this subjects that were published on June 18, 2020.
These tweets may not be given in the order of their posting
on that twitter page. All of these examples are given without videos or other
visual images.
Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.
1. No Hipsters allowed @nohipstersblog
"Every other year, the theory that #Beethoven was of
African descent resurfaces.
.
Today, it resurfaced once again, and the composer had been trending
all afternoon.
.
The basis of the theory is
https://instagram.com/p/CBlt7lDJpKs/
[Here's the text from that instagram.com post]
"There is one pencil sketch that has stood the test of
time, and was supposedly Beethoven's favorite depiction of himself. This is a
photo that he had printed and reprinted, distributing it to all his friends and
family as a memento. In this photo his face is broad, his hair is unruly, and
his skin is very dark. This is were things started adding up.
We know that Europeans have a tendency to white-wash their
history, and I don't mean Huck Finn style.
European colonization dehumanized those with colored skin, ignoring
their stories and taking credit for their achievements. At one point, Great
Britain alone had control of a fifth of the world's population. The fact of the
matter is that white is the de facto "default race" of the vast
majority of European art. Non-white artists work's [sic] often goes
unrecognized or even go under the name of someone else."
**
2. madison @honeyb33f
...·"Also, found an interesting article about this. I
am convinced !!!"
[Pancocojams' Editor: Here's a long excerpt of that
article] :
"Was Beethoven's African Heritage Whitewashed?
Famed music composer Ludwig van Beethoven created some of
the most impressive works of art in his time that are still played worldwide
today. Aside from being a musical genius, what most people don’t know is that
Beethoven may have roots tracing back to Africa. An exact conclusion has yet to
be determined, but there is a lot of evidence and research that strongly
supports the claim. If it’s true, why is Beethoven’s African heritage
white-washed?
Describing Beethoven
Images of Beethoven are recognized worldwide, depicting a white male with wild hair. But are these images accurate for the famous musician? Photography didn’t exist until around the end of Beethoven’s life so we must rely on artistic paintings and written descriptions of Beethoven to get an idea of his actual appearance. While many of the images detail him with fair skin, written descriptions of the composer render us a different image of Beethoven.
Images of Beethoven are recognized worldwide, depicting a white male with wild hair. But are these images accurate for the famous musician? Photography didn’t exist until around the end of Beethoven’s life so we must rely on artistic paintings and written descriptions of Beethoven to get an idea of his actual appearance. While many of the images detail him with fair skin, written descriptions of the composer render us a different image of Beethoven.
Many sources have been gathered throughout history from
anthropologists, historians, and even close acquaintances of Beethoven that
have described him in brief detail, raising the question that Beethoven may
have had some trace of African heritage based on similar features found in
African descendants.
It’s important to reference how Beethoven was considered in
the public eye. Many texts have been uncovered that refer to Beethoven as a
“Moor.” In this era, ‘Moor’ translates to ‘negro,’ before the term was extended
to include Arabs in later times. The German translation for ‘negro’ is also
‘mohr.’ A renowned Beethoven Historian, Alexander W. Thayer, can be quoted
stating “Beethoven had even more of the Moor in his features than his master,
Haydn.” Many people suggest that Moors introduced the classical music style to
Europe, evident by the hint that Beethoven’s musical master was also of Moorish
descent.
A description of Beethoven was also discovered, written by
one of his close friends, Frau Fischer. Beethoven is described as having a
“blackish-brown complexion” and “short, stocky, broad shoulders, short neck,
round nose…” A similar description was given by Frederick Hertz, a German
anthropologist in his book Race and Civilization. He mentions that Beethoven
has “Negroid traits,” “dark skin,” and a “flat, thick nose.”
Combine these descriptions with the visual depiction of his
curly hair, and we can draw parallels between characteristics of people of
African descent such as African Americans or West Indian mulattos.
Beethoven's Parents
While Beethoven’s African heritage may have been white-washed, examination of his parents may lead to other evidence that the famed composer has roots to Africa. It’s not determined which of his parents’ sides that trace back to Africa but there are possibilities from either.
While Beethoven’s African heritage may have been white-washed, examination of his parents may lead to other evidence that the famed composer has roots to Africa. It’s not determined which of his parents’ sides that trace back to Africa but there are possibilities from either.
...One piece of evidence on his father’s side that causes
inquiry into his heritage is that Johann was half-Flemish and born in Belgium,
a known Moorish territory during his time.
Suggestions of African heritage are also derived on his
mother’s side, perhaps more so than from his father. Beethoven’s mother, Maria
Magdalena Keverich, was born in Ehrenbreitstein, Germany, also encompassed
within the Moor territory. His mother is rumored to be moor or even mixed with
a white father and black mother, or vice-versa.
A least favorable consideration for Beethoven’s African
heritage could also be that he was an illegitimate child, as some research
suggests. Beethoven has been referred to as a ‘kammermohr,’ a German word describing
the offspring of relations with a servant of black skin."....
**
3. Adewale Alabi @Elawofficial
"Instead of arguing over Beethoven. Let's focus our
energy on actual black classical music composers from the same period who did
amazing work but did not get as much recognition. Click the link below to learn
about them.
https://www.choralhub.com/2015/11/black-and-proud-take-a-look-at-black-composers-and-musicians-in-classical-music-history-part-1/
#Beethoven2020 #beethovenwasblack
**
4. Dr. Kira Thurman
@kira_thurman
" Hi gang! I'm not on twitter much right now, but
because several of you have asked for my take on the question, "Was
Beethoven Black?"
Here's my answer as a scholar who writes about black
musicians in Europe for a living:
-snip-
Dr. Thurman's photograph identifies her as a Black woman.
Information in her profile identifies her as a history professor at a German
university. This is only a small portion of this twitter thread. Click
https://twitter.com/kira_thurman/status/1273663359733334018
**
5. Dr. Kira Thurman
@kira_thurman
"Surprise! I can't answer that question yet. I haven't
had time to go through original German sources and read them for myself. But I
can tell you that the question, "Was Beethoven Black?" has been
around since the 1930s, when African American journalists began to circulate
it."
**
6. Dr. Kira Thurman
@kira_thurman
"The question, "Was Beethoven Black" got
picked up again in the 1960s by Malcolm
X and Stokely Carmichael. See Michael Broyles's book, Beethoven in
America. They wanted to associate
blackness with genius, which white people constantly denied.
**
7. Dr. Kira Thurman
@kira_thurman
" But to my mind, Beethoven being black is a red
herring. We don't need him to prove our genius. But do you know a figure who
was Black during Beethoven's day?
**
8. Dr. Kira Thurman
@kira_thurman
"Violinist George Bridgetower (1791-1860). The son of
an Afro-Caribbean servant and a Polish mother at the Esterhazy palace, he was a
student of composer Joseph Haydn and a friend of Beethoven. Beethoven dedicated
a violin sonata to him, which was so hard to play many gave up.
**
9. Dr. Kira Thurman @kira_thurman"The African
American musicologist Maud Cuney Hare first championed George Bridgetower in
1927, the centenary of Beethoven's death. She noticed that white musicologists
only talked about Beethoven—not Bridgetower."
**
10. Dr. Kira Thurman
@kira_thurman
"So instead of asking the question, "Was Beethoven
Black?" ask "Why don't I know anything about George
Bridgetower?" I, frankly, don't need any more debates about Beethoven's
blackness. But I do need people to play the music of Bridgetower. And others
like him.
**
11. Dr. Kira Thurman
@kira_thurman
"There are already many Black European composers whose
music deserves our ears. Chevalier de St. George. Samuel Coleridge Taylor.
Edmond Dédé. Amanda Aldridge. Instead of programming Beethoven's 5th another
time, why aren't musicians performing their works?"
**
12. Emma @EmmaofEngland
"Not Beethoven related, but Mozart was deeply jealous
of Joseph Bologne. He was a champion fencer, classical composer, virtuoso
violinist, and conductor of the leading symphony orchestra in Paris. I only
learnt about him recently so I thought other people might not know."
**
13. Nyasha Junior @NyashaJunior
"If you're surprised about Beethoven, I have some news
for you about Jesus.
****
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