Black people have composed and performed classical music as long as the genre has existed. King Henry VIII had a Black trumpeter, John Blanke. Beethoven wrote the Kreutzer Sonata for a Black violinist, George Bridgetower (1780-1860). Le...
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Black people have composed and performed classical music as long as the genre has existed. King Henry VIII had a Black trumpeter, John Blanke. Beethoven wrote the Kreutzer Sonata for a Black violinist, George Bridgetower (1780-1860). Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-1799) was a leading Afro-French composer, violinist and conductor in Paris. He regularly played music at Versailles with Queen Marie-Antoinette.
[James DePreist] Media-Newswire.com November 16, 2009 “James DePreist, Symphony Conductor and Penn Alumnus, Receives University's Inaugural Creative Spirit Award PHILADELPHIA the Internationally acclaimed maestro James A. DePreist received the University of Pennsylvania's first Creative Spirit Award in recognition of his artistic leadership and life-long commitment to the arts. The award, a highlight of Penn’s yearlong celebration of Arts and the City Year, was presented during ceremonies at... Read Full Story
[Thomas "Blind Tom" Wiggins (top); Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Arion 68093 (center); George Walker (bottom)] The Afro-American Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Janise White and accompanied by violinist Christopher Woods, presented works of Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Tom Bethune and George Walker in a “Black Symphonists Concert” at 5:00 PM on Sunday, May 24, 2009 at Wilshire United Methodist Church, 4350 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California. The concert was supported in part by... Read Full Story
[ Classics Online Exclusive: The Violin Concerto Collection ; Saint-Georges Violin Concertos, Vol. 2; Qian Zhou, Violin; Toronto Camerata; Kevin Mallon, Conductor; Naxos 8.557322 (2004)] Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-1799) is profiled at AfriClassical.com . To our knowledsge, the only budget CDs of his music are the two Naxos recordings of his Violin Concertos. ClassicsOnline.com is presently offering a Naxos MP3 download of three violin concertos, one each by Franz Berwald, Antonio... Read Full Story
[Angela Wellman, Trombonist, is Founder of Oakland Public Conservatory of Music, “The country's first Public Conservatory of Music”] “Oakland Conservatory youth musicians onstage Sunday” InsideBayArea.com By Angela Woodall Oakland Tribune Posted: 05/27/09 Updated: 05/28/09 “From Aaron Copland to Modest Mussorgsky, young Oakland musicians will take the stage Sunday at Skyline Community Church for an afternoon of works by innovative composers. The Oakland Public Conservatory of Music chamber... Read Full Story
[James DePreist, Fanfare Magazine , November-December 1995 ] Huliq News “Joshua Roman Returns To Seattle Beloved Northwest conductor James DePreist will lead Seattle Symphony and former Seattle Symphony Principal Cellist Joshua Roman in the World Premiere of David Stock’s much-anticipated Cello Concerto on Thursday, May 28, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, May 30, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, May 31, at 2 p.m. The program will also include Smetana’s vibrant Overture to The Bartered Bride and Rachmaninov’s... Read Full Story
[Saint-George/Mozart Quatuors à cordes; Quatuor Antarès; Integral Classic INT 221.125/1 (2003)] The most recent authoritative biography of Joseph de Bologne, Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges, is Joseph de Saint-George, le Chevalier Noir , by Pierre Bardin. It was published in France by Guenegaud in 2006. On January 8, 2009 I received an E-mail from Monsieur Bardin, which I have translated as follows: "Dear Professor Zick, I want to share a discovery I recently made. It will surprise you and... Read Full Story
[ The Firebird Suite; The Rite of Spring; Igor Stravinsky; James DePreist, Conductor; Delos DE 3278] OregonLive.com Posted by David Stabler, The Oregonian April 19, 2009 “ James DePreist returned to the Oregon Symphony over the weekend with a musical program shot through with personal associations. The 72-year-old former music director of the orchestra - his title of laureate conductor expired last year - led three works at Schnitzer Hall: Christopher Theofanidis' 'Rainbow Body,' which he... Read Full Story
Lightskinnededgirl.typepad.com posted an article on Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) on May 8, 2009. It reads, in part: “In 1904 he traveled to the United States where, according to Wikipedia , he developed an interest in his racial heritage: 'He sought to do for African music what Johannes Brahms did for Hungarian music and Antonín Dvořák for Bohemian music.'" We have posted a comment: “Congratulations on identifying and promoting a very accomplished Afro-British composer, conductor... Read Full Story
(1780-1860) I did a post a few days ago about Le Chevalier De St-Georges a black 18th century French composer, talented fencer and French revolution army general. You can read that post HERE . In doing quick research about Joseph Bologne, Le Chevalier De St-Georges I stumbled across the story of George Augustus Polgreen Bridgetower, an 18th century violin virtuoso. Like Le Chevalier De St-Georges, Bridgetower was a bi-racial, except his father was black and his mother was white. It is... Read Full Story
[Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges Violin Concertos, Op. 5, Nos. 1 & 2; Op. 3, No. 1; Op. 8, No. 9; Bernard Thomas Chamber Orchestra; Jean-Jacques Kantorow, Violin; Arion 68093 (1990)] Black in Alberta Tuesday, March 17, 2009 Black Mozart – Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges “ Joseph Bologne, Le Chevalier (Le Chevalier means knight) de Saint Georges was born on Christmas Day, 1745 in Guadeloupe to a slave and a French colonialist . His father took Le Chevalier de Saint Georges and the boy's mother... Read Full Story
