Poster Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges
Composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges
Etching by Eugène de Beaumont (1758), via WikiMedia Commons
Performance Today®

Joseph Bologne

Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, was a fine marksman, a fencer, and one of the great French violinists of the 1700s. He was also the first known classical composer of African descent. The Minnesota Orchestra plays Joseph Boulogne's Symphony No. 1 on this episode of Performance Today.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Aaron Copland: Music for Movies: Barley Wagons, Grovers Corners
St. Louis Symphony | Leonard Slatkin, conductor
Album: Copland: Music for Films
RCA 61699

Domenico Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonatas, K 518 & K 519
Miguel Ituarte, harpsichord
Fundacion Juan March, Madrid, Spain

Edward Elgar: Introduction & Allegro for Strings, Op. 47
Texas Festival String Orchestra | Dongmin Kim, conductor
Round Top Music Festival, Festival Concert Hall, Round Top, TX

Aaron Copland: Sonata for Violin and Piano
Stefan Jackiw, violin | Conrad Tao, piano
Skaneateles Festival, First Presbyterian Church, Skaneateles, NY

Hour 2

Jean Philippe Rameau: Elegy (Deux gigues)
Dmitry Paperno, piano
Album: Through the Years
Cedille 74

Joseph Bologne Chevalier de Saint-Georges: Symphony No. 1 in G Major, Op. 11, No. 1
Minnesota Orchestra | Osmo Vanska, conductor
Minnesota Orchestra, Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis, MN

Jean-Philippe Rameau: Pièces de clavecin en concerts, No. 1 in C Minor
Emi Ferguson, flute | William Short, bassoon | Paolo Bordignon, harpsichord
Camerata Pacifica, Hahn Hall, Music Academy of the West, Santa Barbara, CA

Josef Suk: Piano Quartet in A Minor, Op. 1
Orli Shaham, piano | Gary Levinson, violin | Michael Klotz, viola | Amanda Forsyth, cello
Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX

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American Public Media’s Performance Today® is America’s most popular classical music radio program and a winner of the 2014 Gabriel Award for artistic achievement. The show is broadcast on hundreds of public radio stations across the country, including at 1 p.m. central weekdays on Minnesota Public Radio. More information about our stations can be found at APM Distribution.

Performance Today® features live concert recordings that can’t be heard anywhere else, highlights from new album releases, and in-studio performances and interviews. Performance Today® is based at the APM studios in St. Paul, Minnesota, but is frequently on the road, with special programs broadcast from festivals and public radio stations around the country. Also, each Wednesday, composer Bruce Adolphe joins host Fred Child for a classical musical game and listener favorite: the Piano Puzzler.

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