Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, was a French composer and violinist of the Classical period, born in Guadeloupe to a French planter and an enslaved African mother and raised and trained in Paris, where he became a leading virtuoso, conductor, and celebrated fencer. His output includes violin concertos, string quartets, sinfonia concertantes, sonatas, and several opéras comiques, composed largely while he directed prominent Parisian orchestras. He died in Paris in 1799 at the age of 53 from bladder disease complicated by gangrene.

Saint-Georges is recognized as the first classical composer of African descent to achieve widespread acclaim in Western music, navigating and largely overcoming the racial barriers of pre-Revolutionary France. Long neglected after his death, his music has undergone significant rediscovery in recent decades, supported by dedicated festivals, recordings, and the 2022 biographical film Chevalier, and he is now increasingly represented in discussions of diversity in the classical canon.

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Bologne,_Chevalier_de_Saint-Georges