Marie Antoinette had an appreciation for music instilled in her since her childhood, when her mother, the Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa, insisted she received voice, harp, and piano lessons as part of her education, according Chevalier de Saint-Georges: Virtuoso of the Sword and the Bow, a biography by Gabriel Banat.Īfter she became queen of France, Marie Antoinette began hosting intimate musicales in her private apartments at the Palace of Versailles. Marie Antoinette admired the music of Chevalier de Saint-Georges and invited him to intimate musicales in her private apartments at the Palace of Versailles. “Chevalier was unfairly called the ‘Black Mozart,’ it should really be in many cases Mozart who should be called the ‘White Chevalier,’” said Bill Barclay, a composer and music director who wrote a play about Saint-Georges. Saint-Georges lived in Paris the same time as Mozart and was actually more famous than him at the time. As a conductor, he commissioned the legendary Joseph Haydn to write six symphonies for him. Saint-Georges wrote celebrated violin concertos, several hit operas, and was one of the first French composers to write for a string quartet, according to WCRB. He was later appointed the orchestra’s concertmaster and started composing his own works. By 1769, Saint-Georges joined Gossec’s symphony orchestra Le Concert des Amateurs. His skills at violin and harpsichord earned him the attention of such major composers as Antonio Lolli, Jean-Marie Leclair, and François-Joseph Gossec. The suffix came from the name of his father’s plantation.īut Saint-Georges’ true gifts were in music. He was a chevalier, or knight, and adopted the name Chevalier de Saint-Georges. Bologne was educated in France and excelled at fencing, defeating master fencers even during his teenage years. Who Was Chevalier de Saint-Georges?īorn on Christmas Day in 1745, Joseph Bologne was the son of a French nobleman, who had a court appointment in the royal household, and his slave mistress, who was of Senegalese descent. This is the story of their relationship, from their intimate musical performances together to how their perceived closeness later hurt him during the French Revolution. His association with the queen brought him greater prominence but had its fair share of drawbacks as well. Saint-Georges’ connection to Marie Antoinette is featured heavily in the trailer for Chevalier, now in theaters, and is one of the most remembered aspects of his life. She so admired his work that she invited Saint-Georges for private performances, which raised more than a few eyebrows among her royal court. In his own day, however, his talents captured the idea of a particular notable patron: Marie Antoinette. The 18 th century composer was a violin virtuoso, master fencer, military leader, orchestra conductor, and crafter of symphonies so impressive that he is often referred to as the “Black Mozart.”ĭespite his incredible life and achievements, Saint-Georges’ story has largely been forgotten. Chevalier de Saint-Georges is the subject of the new film Chevalier, and his fascinating life is long overdue for some silver-screen attention.
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