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.