Black History:  Special Delivery!!

joseph-bologne-chevalier-de-saint-georges
Joseph Bologne (1745 – 1799) 

Joseph Bologne (1745 – 1799) was known as “The Black Mozart”.  A violinist and classical music composer,  Bologne is recognized as one of the first classical composers of African descent.  He also played the harpsichord. Bologne was the son of a wealthy French planter and an enslaved African woman on a Caribbean plantation in Guadelupe.  He was sent to Paris as a teen to be educated and graduated from Académie royale polytechnique des armes et de ‘l’équitation (fencing and horsemanship).  He later became an officer in the king’s bodyguard where he was given the title “Chevalier de Saint-Georges”.  Continue reading “The Black Mozart:  Joseph Bologne, Recognized As One Of The First Classical Composers of African Descent.     “ →