🎧 Chevalier: France's Revolutionary Black Maestro
🎧 Dan Snow's History Hit
•
19m
Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges is perhaps the most accomplished classical musician that you've never heard of. A composer, soldier and champion fencer, this episode traces his life from the French colony of Guadeloupe to the concert halls of Paris and the battlefields of the French Revolution.
So how did a man of mixed heritage overcome the prejudices of the day? And what was the significance of his achievements at the time? Dan is joined by Stephen Williams, director of the acclaimed 2023 biographical drama Chevalier, to talk about his life and the importance of remembering it.
Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.
Up Next in 🎧 Dan Snow's History Hit
-
🎧 The British Empire
The British Empire was one of the most influential and far-reaching empires in history. Dan and his guest journalist and author Sathnam Sanghera remember school lessons on the small island that rose to global dominance. From the 16th century to the 20th century, the British Empire spanned contine...
-
🎧 D-Day: Britain and America's 'Speci...
The 6th of June, 1944 was the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany and the pinnacle of the 'special relationship' between Britain and the United States. Hundreds of thousands of Allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day and fought side by side to liberate Europe. But in the decades ...
-
🎧 The History of the Ejector Seat
An ejector seat propels a human at speeds reaching 200 miles in less than a second. It can save a life... or snap a neck. John Nichol remembers pulling the ejector handle in his Tornado aircraft flying at over 500mph above the Iraqi desert, launching him back down to earth. It saved his life, but...
