Why were all famous classical composers white?
The Classical Period of Western European Music (1760-1800, very approximately) was, of course, music largely restricted to the inhabitants of Europe. At this time, with the possible exception of Spain, all European residents were white – as far as I know. [Why is it that every single boomerang made before the 18th Century was made by a black person? Why is it that every Chinese vase of the Ming period was made in China?] If, on the other hand, you mean to ask why so few composers of Western Art Music are ‘black’, my answer is much the same. Some Indians and some Japanese are writing quite beautifully at this time. The work of Scot Joplin, a freed negro (to the best of my knowledge), is part of a relatively small amount of work from the USA that is universally admired. Another African-American whose name I forget, [Samuel Coleridge-T…?], a man writing mostly in Britain, achieved a high level of respect as well. The contribution of African-Americans to nearly every manifestation of Jaz
