The life, music and fencing of the Afro-French composer Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-1799) are presented in detail at:
Donald Macleod
Episode 1 of 5
Presented by Donald Macleod
Joseph Bologne, Chevalier
de Saint-Georges began life in 1745 as the illegitimate son of a
Guadeloupe plantation owner and an African slave, going on to become one
of the most
fashionable people in Paris. Not only was he a composer and virtuosic
violinist, but also a notable athlete, gaining much renown at fencing.
His music teachers included Leclair and Gossec, and he would eventually
take over conducting the Concert des Amateurs, an orchestra that
frequently premiered his violin concertos with Saint-Georges as the
soloist. The Concert des Amateurs went on to become one of the best
orchestras in Europe under his direction. Saint-Georges also founded La
Loge Olympique, which commissioned Haydn's Paris symphonies. His
connections with royalty and the aristocracy would eventually lead him
into trouble during the French Revolution. Although appointed Colonel of
the Legion of Americans, he remained under suspicion and was eventually
imprisoned for over a year. He ended his days in a Paris he hardly
recognised, and died in 1799.
***
By 1749
Saint-Georges and his family had moved to Paris where he soon found
himself enrolled at a specialist fencing school run by Nicholas Texier
de La Boëssière, inventor of the fencing mask. The young Joseph took to
fencing immediately, and would not only become a celebrated composer
with many aristocratic patrons, but also one of the leading fencers of
his day in all of France.
String Quartet in D major, Op 14 No 1
Apollon Quartet
Harpsichord Sonata No 6 in E major
Anne Robert, harpsichord
Violin Concerto No 10 in G major
Qian Zhou, violin
Toronto Camerata
Kevin Mallon, conductor
Producer Luke Whitlock.
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