Artist Thumbnail
Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges
Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-George was a French violinist, conductor, composer and soldier. Moreover, he demonstrated excellence as a fencer, an athlete and an accomplished dancer. His historical significance lies partly in his distinctive background as a biracial free man of color. Bologne was the first classical composer of African descent to attain widespread acclaim in European music. He composed an array of violin concertos, string quartets, sinfonia concertantes, violin duets, sonatas, two symphonies and an assortment of stage works, notably opéra comique. Born in the French colony of Guadeloupe, his father, Georges Bologne de Saint-Georges, was a wealthy, white plantation owner, while his mother was one of the Creole people Georges kept enslaved. At the age of seven, he was taken to France where he began his formal education. As a young man he won a fencing contest leading to his appointment as a "gendarme de la garde du roi" by king Louis XVI. Having received music and musical composition lessons, he joined the orchestra Le Concert des Amateurs; culminating in his appointment as its conductor in 1773. In 1776, Saint-Georges began conducting the Paris Opera. From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevalier_de_Saint-Georges) under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode)

Songs

See All
1
thumbnail
Violin Concerto in G Major, Op. 8, No. 2: I. Allegro
Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges
2
thumbnail
Chevalier de Saint-Georges: Violin Concerto No. 2 in A Major, Op. 5: III. Rondeau
Anne-Sophie Mutter
3
thumbnail
Scena from "Ernestine"
Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Michael Abels, Patricia Janečková, and Michael Skalický
4
thumbnail
Chevalier de Saint-Georges: L'Amant anonyme / Act 1: Son amour, sa constance extrême
Samuel Mariño
5
thumbnail
Chevalier de Saint-Georges: Violin Concerto No. 2 in A Major, Op. 5: I. Allegro moderato
Anne-Sophie Mutter

Albums

thumbnail

Bach, Bologne, Previn, Vivaldi, Williams

2023
thumbnail

Sopranista

2022
thumbnail

Chevalier (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

2023

Singles & EPs

thumbnail

Saint-Georges: L'Amant anonyme / Act 1: Son amour, sa constance extrême

Single • 2022

Videos

See All
thumbnail

Scena from "Ernestine" (From "Chevalier")

Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Patricia Janečková, Michael Skalický, and Michael Abels • 40K views
thumbnail

Anne-Sophie Mutter, Mutter's Virtuosi - Bologne: Violin Concerto No. 2 in A Major, Op. 5: II. Largo

Deutsche Grammophon - DG • 38K views