![]() Joseph Bologne was born in Baillif, Basse-Terre as the son of a planter and former councillor at the parliament of Metz, Georges de Bologne Saint-Georges (1711–1774) and Nanon, his wife's 16-year-old enslaved African servant of Senegalese origin, who served as her personal maid. Early life ġ780 Raynal and Bonne Map of Guadeloupe, West Indies In addition to his many violin concertos, Saint-Georges also composed several stage works (plays, comedies, ballet), a rondeau for two violins, an adagio in F-minor (for piano), a harpsichord quartet, and several operas - he even composed a children’s opera, “ Aline et Dupré, ou le marchand de marrons,” G.204. He published numerous string quartets, sonatas, and symphonies. This achievement was rendered all the more iconic, having been attained in a particularly uncertain, turbulent time in French (and world) history. Today, le Chevalier de Saint-Georges is best remembered as the earliest European musician/composer, of full or partial African descent, to receive widespread critical acclaim becoming concertmaster and (supposed to have been) conductor of the Paris symphonic institution, no less. įollowing the 1789 outbreak of the French Revolution, and now approaching 45 years of age, Saint-Georges served as a colonel of the Légion St.-Georges, established in 1792 as the first all-black regiment in Europe, and the first of its kind to be defending the French First Republic. He travelled to London for a personal meeting with the Prince of Wales and George III, in 1787. These works were premiered in 1787 and are known today as Haydn’s “Paris” symphonies, nos. He was a conductor of the unusually large orchestra of professionals and amateurs and in 1784 was authorized to commission Franz Joseph Haydn to write six symphonies for them. After the orchestra disbanded in 1781, he joined a new orchestra formed by a masonic lodge that was called Le Concert de la Loge Olympique. He became the concertmaster by 1771 and the orchestra’s conductor in 1773. ![]() He joined “ Le Concert des amateurs,” which was an orchestra of amateurs and professionals founded by Gossec. However, he was still acquainted with and remained friendly with several composers (notably, Salieri, Gossec, Gretry, Mozart and Gluck). In 1778, he lived for around 2.5 months near to Mozart in the Chaussee d'Antin, and stopped composing instrumental works altogether by 1785. In 1776 he was proposed as the next conductor of the Paris Opera but was subsequently denied this role by a petition by the divas of the time to the Queen. In 1775 he introduced the symphonie concertante, using the possibilities offered by a new bow. In 1773 he was appointed conductor of "Le Concert des Amateurs". In 1769 he joined a new symphony orchestra two years later he was appointed concertmaster and soon started composing. In 1764 Antonio Lolli dedicated two concertos to Saint-Georges. He received music lessons from François-Joseph Gossec and likely violin lessons from Jean-Marie Leclair, while continuing to study fencing. At the age of seven he was taken to France, and at the age of thirteen educated as gendarme to the King. Saint-Georges was born in the then-French colony of Guadeloupe, the son of Georges de Bologne Saint-Georges, a wealthy married planter, and an enslaved Senegalese African woman named Nanon. Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (25 December 1745 – 10 June 1799), was a French Creole virtuoso violinist and composer, who was conductor of the leading symphony orchestra in Paris. Académie royale polytechnique des armes et de l'équitation
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