Chevalier de Saint-Georges

Joseph Bologne, the Chevalier de Saint-Georges, is one of history's most astonishing résumés: violinist, conductor, composer, champion fencer, and soldier, all as a biracial free man of color in 18th-century France. I keep coming back to how thoroughly he was nearly erased from the canon. The fact that we're rediscovering his music now feels less like trivia and more like correcting an old injustice. To me he isn't a footnote to Mozart's era; he's proof of how much talent gets sidelined by prejudice. I genuinely wish more of his work had survived intact.

Name (English)

Chevalier de Saint-Georges

Name (Japanese)

ジョゼフ・ブローニュ・シュヴァリエ・ド・サン＝ジョルジュ

Reading

じょぜふ・ぶろーにゅ・しゅゔぁりえ・ど・さん＝じょるじゅ

Born

December 25, 1745 – June 10, 1799

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Capricorn / Ox

Origin

Baillif, France

Occupation

composer / conductor / fencer / concertmaster / military personnel

Motto

Private

• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B8%E3%83%A7%E3%82%BC%E3%83%95%E3%83%BB%E3%83%96%E3%83%AD%E3%83%BC%E3%83%8B%E3%83%A5%E3%83%BB%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A5%E3%83%B4%E3%82%A1%E3%83%AA%E3%82%A8%E3%83%BB%E3%83%89%E3%83%BB%E3%82%B5%E3%83%B3%EF%BC%9D%E3%82%B8%E3%83%A7%E3%83%AB%E3%82%B8%E3%83%A5

Tags

• composer
• conductor
• fencer

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.