'Martin Burrage...who first performed the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Op.1, has had an 1895 HC Silvestre of Paris'

[ABOVE: José White - Shown here after he received the 1st prize for violin at the Conservatoire de Paris in 1856. Bibliothèque Nationale de France; Wikipedia BELOW: Live-A-Music, comprised of five members of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, released a limited-edition CD in 2001. The program consists of Coleridge-Taylor's Fantasiestucke for String Quartet, Op. 5, and his Quintet for Piano and Strings, Op. 1.]

José Silvestre White (1835-1918), aka José Silvestre White y Lafitte, was an Afro-Cuban composer, violinist and professor who is profiled at AfriClassical.com, where his works are listed by Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma of http://www.CasaMusicaledeLerma.com

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On December 31, 2009 AfriClassical posted: “José Silvestre White, Afro-Cuban Composer & Violinist, Born December 31, 1835.” Hilary Burrage commented on July 8, 2011: “I wonder if he was related to the Silvestre luthiers (P, and then HC) who lived in Paris at that time? Seems very possible..?”

Later the same day, after the first comment was published, Hilary Burrage wrote: “Thanks Bill. Slightly oddly, we knew about the Silvestre luthiers because my other half, Martin Anthony (Tony) Burrage, who ‘discovered’ and in 2001 first performed the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Op.1, has had an 1895 HC Silvestre of Paris as his concert instrument for the past 40 years! Will be interesting to learn if anyone knows whether there may indeed be a genuine connection somewhere here. Very best, Hilary”

Afro-Cuban Violinist José White Won 1st Prize for Violin in 1856 at Conservatoire de Paris

[Afro-Cuban violinist and composer José White. Shown here after he received the 1st prize for violin at the Conservatoire de Paris in 1856. Bibliothèque Nationale de France; Wikipedia]

José Silvestre White, aka José Silvestre White y Lafitte, was an Afro-Cuban composer, violinist and professor who is profiled at AfriClassical.com. His mother was Afro-Cuban and his father Spanish. Josephine Wright, Professor of Music at the College of Wooster, in Wooster, Ohio published an article Violinist José White in Paris, 1855-1875, in Black Music Research Journal, Vol. 10, No. 2, Fall 1990. The article tells of José White's success at the Paris Conservatory, as evidenced by his First Grand Prize in Violin:

“Thriving in such an enriching, stimulating environment, José White excelled. After just one year of study, he won the Paris Conservatory's highest award in violin, the coveted First Grand Prize. That competition took place on July 29, 1856, and was reviewed by Le Pays on August 5:

'The competition for violin [at the Conservatory] has offered a beautiful spectacle this year, being the most brilliant struggle. The first grand prize was conceded to Mr. White, pupil of Alard, and the second [prize] to Mr. [Aimé] Gros, from the same class... Mr. White showed himself [so] superior that there should have been created a grand exceptional prize in his favor. He performed with an extraordinary animation, not like a pupil but as a great artist who commands his audience. The jury itself was electrified' (Ramirez 1891, 178).”

A full catalogue of José White's surviving compositions has been compiled by Dr. Dominique-René de Lerma, Professor of Music at Lawrence University Conservatory. It is found in the same issue of Black Music Research Journal as Prof. Wright's article. One recording of the music of José White is Violin Concertos By Black Composers of the 18th and 19th Centuries, Cedille 90000 035 (1997), which includes his Violin Concerto in F-sharp Minor (21:34) performed by Rachel Barton, violin and the Encore Chamber Orchestra led by Daniel Hege, Conductor.

YouTube: 1924 Edison Recording of 'La Bella Cubana' by José Silvestre White (1835-1918)

[José Silvestre White (1835-1918); photo from http://www.guije.com/libros/musical/white/f1.jpg]

'La Bella Cubana' (6:13) by the Afro-Cuban composer José Silvestre White (1835-1918) can be heard on a YouTube video: “An experimental recording in 1924 by Thomas Alva Edison.” "La Bella Cubana ‐ José White (composer)”. "La bella cubana", a Habanera, was originally written for two violins and piano."

"La Bella Cubano- Habanera

Performed by: El Trio Cubano - violins and piano 

Record format: Edison Diamond Disc test pressing 

Matrix number: 9717-A-1-1 

Recording date: September 18, 1924 

NPS object catalog number: EDIS 77575

This item is part of the collection: Open Source Audio

Author: El Trio Cubano

Date: 1924-00-00 00:00:00

Source: National Park Service

Creative Commons license: Public Domain"

[José Silvestre White, or José Silvestre White y Lafitte, was an Afro-Cuban violinist who became a composer and professor after graduating from the Paris Conservatory. He is profiled at AfriClassical.com. A full catalogue of José White's surviving compositions has been compiled by Dr. Dominique-René de Lerma, Professor of Music at Lawrence University. It was published in Black Music Research Journal, Vol. 10, No. 2, Fall 1990, and can also be found on the José Silvestre White page of the website.]