Musicians You Should Know: Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-George

Basic Facts

Born: December 25, 1745, Guadeloupe

Died: June 10, 1799, Paris, France

Type of Performer: Violinist, conductor, composer

Genre: Classical

About Joseph Boulogne, the Chevalier de Saint-George

Joseph Boulogne, the Chevalier de Saint-George, often called the "Black Mozart," was born in 1745 on the French-colonized island of Guadeloupe, the illegitimate son of a plantation owner and an enslaved woman named Nanon. His father, George Boulogne de Saint-George, brought him to Paris in 1748 and made sure he received the finest education. Because Joseph was half-black, he was barred from French noble status but was supported financially by his father. Boulogne studied swordsmanship, literature, science, and horseback riding, along with music. He mastered both the violin and the harpsichord, and he joined an esteemed orchestra in 1769 called Le Concert des Amateurs. After the group's director left in 1773, Boulogne became the new conductor. A successful violinist, several European composers wrote concertos with him in mind, and he premiered some of Haydn's most famous symphonies. As he rose in fame, he enjoyed the support of French nobles including Queen Marie Antoinette, but he was also a polarizing figure because of his race. There is some speculation that Mozart named a villain in his opera, The Magic Flute, after him, and he was denied the post of director of the Paris Opera because the leading sopranos refused to work for him.

In addition to being a talented performer and conductor, Boulogne was also a modest composer. By 1772, he had written several violin concertos, and he was one of the first composers to write for the string quartet, a new format that was developing in Austria at the time. He also wrote a harp concerto, several symphonies and operas, and several works in quintessentially French genres including the symphonie concertante and the quartet concertante. Some of his works have been lost, but several experienced a resurgence in popularity in the late twentieth century. Near the end of his life, he returned to the Caribbean, but was very disillusioned by the racial violence he witnessed there. He returned to France in 1797, where he died two years later in 1799. Several commemorative editions of his music were released; however, as Napoleon came to power and slavery was reestablished, Boulogne and his music were removed from repertoire lists, not to be reintroduced for over a century.

Listen

Symphonie Concertante in G Major, Allegro, performed by the Buskaid Soweto String Ensemble, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2012

Violin Concerto in G Major, Op. 2, No. 1, performed by the Bayerische Kammerphilharmonie, Munich, 2007

Music Notes from AMUSE

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