While she could sing, her skin color would have denied her entrance to the concert. In 1853, soprano Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield – people knew her as the “Black Swan' – made her New York debut at the Metropolitan Hall. Soprano Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield, “The Black Swan”. Poet Rita Dove wrote a book about Bridgetower and Beethoven's relationship. Later, the two had a falling out – something to do with a lady – and Beethoven changed the piece's name. 9 in A Major to Bridgetower, and they premiered the piece together. Beethoven then dedicated his Violin Sonata No. In 1803, virtuoso violinist George Bridgetower, who had studied under the leader of the Royal Opera, played with Beethoven. After Napoleon re-instituted slavery in France, de Saint-Georges' works were rarely played, though lots of his work has been recorded since the 1970's.
In the mid-to-late 1700's, Chevalier de Saint-Georges was an Afro-French composer who was also France’s best fencer. By the way, these entries were originally part of an episode of the Classical Classroom podcast (audio included below). We’ve collected our twenty-eight February entries in this article. Each day during February, we posted a “Classical Music Moment in Black History” on our Facebook page to show the contributions of black artists to classical music throughout history.
