Talk:Chevalier de Saint-Georges

Performances at the palace

If accurate, wouldn't this information be good to include in this article? The current version of this article doesn't mention the word "palace" or "court," and doesn't explicitly state that the Chevalier de Saint-Georges knew Marie Antoinette, only that people during the Revolution guessed he did. Shouldn't be try to be more encyclopedic?

After she became queen of France, Marie Antoinette began hosting intimate musicales in her private apartments at the Palace of Versailles. She preferred a small audience, so these gatherings were largely limited to a few musicians and a small number of guests from her immediate entourage. Saint-Georges was among the participants. Saint-Georges likely played the piano during these musicales, with Marie Antoinette joining him on the fortepiano. Marie Antoinette also attended Saint-Georges' more public concerts in Paris at places like Hôtel de Soubise and the Tuileries Palace. In 1779, Saint-Georges was attacked by six undercover police officers while leaving the Palace of Versailles, after having just finished a performance there at Marie Antoinette’s request.

173.88.246.138 (talk) 22:49, 20 May 2023 (UTC)

Are you sure he was playing the piano? Your source is clearly this [1]. The article mentioned already that Saint-Georges was playing the violin sonatas (for two instruments) in her private apartment in the Palace of Versailles, other suggest the Petit Trianon. It will be impossible to find a source, which mention that these two were playing privately in her apartment. On the other hand one playing piano and the other fortepiano at the same time does not make sense. Saint-Georges was playing the violin.

Under St. Georges assaulted this attack is already described. The attack may have been in his neighborhood Le Marais, perhaps Boulevard du Temple, but there is no indication it was near the palace of Versailles. More likely near or coming from the Louvre Palace.Taksen (talk) 01:58, 21 May 2023 (UTC)

• According to the police officer G. they were going home in de Rue d'Antin.Taksen (talk) 08:24, 21 June 2023 (UTC)

You used the word encyclopedic; I don't think is the right word. It is more the opposite. Taksen (talk) 05:30, 21 May 2023 (UTC) Taksen (talk) 07:58, 21 May 2023 (UTC)

Hochschild

Is there someone who could tell me what was written by Hochschild (2005) Bury the Chains on pp. 87, 220? Does he only mention his name or does he have details on Saint-Georges meeting abolitionists? Taksen (talk) 08:13, 10 June 2023 (UTC)

• Hochschild does not mention him al all.Taksen (talk) 08:02, 21 June 2023 (UTC)

Love affairs

Quite few authors tried to prove Saint-Georges was a womanizer and may have had an affairs, for example with Marie-Antoinette.

• For Pierre Choderlos de Laclos conquering women was a sport. In 1779, he was sent to Île-d'Aix (in present-day Charente-Maritime) to assist Marc René, marquis de Montalembert in the construction of fortifications against the British. However, Laclos spent most of his time writing his new epistolary novel, Les Liaisons dangereuses, as well as a Letter to Madame de Montalembert.
• Pierre Le Fèvre de Beauvray attributes to Saint-Georges a love affair with the Marquise Marie-Josephine de Montalembert. In the relevant article on the French Wikipedia it is not mentioned at all, neither on the page on her husband.
  • In the 18th-century people generally and customarily married for practical reasons, and romantic relationships were normally defined as something extramarital.
• According to Banat Saint-George declined the advances of Marie-Madeleine Guimard, but he may have had a relation with Louise Fusil.
• Fusil does not mention an affair with Saint-Georges in her memoirs. Instead she wrote he was inseparable of the horn player Lamotte. She compared them with Pylades and his cousin Orestes. It is suggested they may have had an erotic relation, which seems a better explanation. Noth much is known about Duhamel nor Lamotte. If someone has a better explanation, let me know.Taksen (talk) 09:11, 12 June 2023 (UTC)
• If Saint-Georges already stammered before 1791, it is more likely he was shy.

References

Recent changes

• Saint-Georges is hardly mentioned by contemporary French sources as a composer, or a performer. It is attractive to think that was because of his color, but we should not overrate his contributions, both Mozart and Haydn became more famous.Taksen (talk) 17:48, 3 July 2023 (UTC)
• I restored the link to Black Mozart and the movie in the lead. If the movie and the documentary had not appeared, he wouldn't be as famous as he is now.Taksen (talk) 17:55, 3 July 2023 (UTC)