Because of the publication of the first research paper on Beethoven’s genome, we now know that the composer did not have Spanish, Moorish, or North African ancestry. The genome thus answers questions that were raised at the beginning of the twentieth century partly based on descriptions of the composer from the composer’s lifetime through the middle of the nineteenth century. Through 2022, however, one of the most hotly debated questions in Beethoven historiography, especially on the internet, has been “was Beethoven ‘black’?” There is an extensive literature on the question, including scholarly articles with citations such as Dominique-René de Lerma’s “Beethoven as a Black Composer” in the Black Music Research Journal (spring 1990).
Genes and the Question “Was Beethoven black?”
