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Article: Black Music Center Seeks to Right History
- Article from:
- Chicago Sun-Times
- Article date:
- February 5, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1995 Chicago Sun-Times. (Hide copyright information)
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The honor of France was at stake, and Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges,
one of Europe's top fencers, was called out to defend it against
Giuseppe Gianfaldoni of Italy. Saint-Georges lost the match, but it
only added to his reputation as a man of many talents.
Besides fencing, Saint-Georges, a black Frenchman, composed
operas, sonatas, symphonies and concertos for violin and orchestra.
Saint-Georges' biggest claim to fame, however, may have been as
a musical innovator. He introduced the string quartet to French
music society, and he wrote the first sonata requiring the violin and
keyboard to participate on equal terms, expanding the violin's use,
says music scholar Dominique-Rene de Lerma.
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