Six String Quartets, Op.1, Vol. 1 (Nos. 1-3), parts and score; Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (Latham)

Parts and Score Included

Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-1799) was the first black violinist/composer of international repute and by all accounts an extraordinary figure. He was born in Guadalupe to a wealthy plantation owner and an enslaved African mother; the three traveled to Paris, where Joseph gained fame as a fencing master and was knighted. He was conductor of Le Concert Olympique, one of the leading European orchestras of the time, with whom he commissioned and premiered Haydn's Paris symphonies. He was also a virtuoso violinist, playing as soloist in all of his own concertos. He wrote twelve violin concertos, two symphonies, and some of the first symphonie-concertantes, predating Mozart's by several years (and perhaps inspiring its composition).

His chamber music includes six violin duets, three sonatas for forte-piano and violin, and many string quartets, including the six quartets that make up his Op. 1. Each quartet is set in two movements--an Allegro and a rondo. They show the classism of early Haydn, yet are entirely original, and show his pioneering work with the then-new Tourte bow. This new affordable, two-volume edition is edited by Endre Granat and restores the works for modern performance.

Volume 1 includes:

Quartet No. 1 in C Major

• Quartet No. 2 in E-flat Major
• Quartet No. 3 in G minor