- Bologne’s Op. 3 is a set of two concertos published in Parish circa 1774.
- Chronologically, these are the composer’s third and fourth violin concertos.
- Bologne had made his debut in Paris as a violinist only three years before, in 1772. On that occasion, he played his first two violin concertos, his Op. 2.
- Bologne’s father had died in 1774, which stopped the annuity he’d been receiving from his father. (Because Bologne was the illegitimate son of a formerly enslaved woman, he had no inheritance from his wealthy white father.) After his father’s death, Bologne earned his living through music, including the publication of this violin concerto and eleven others.
- All of Bologne’s violin concertos contain three movements. He also wrote works for violin and orchestra which he called symphonies concertantes, which contained only two movements.1
Sources
- “2 Violin Concertos, Op.3 (Saint-Georges, Joseph Bologne),” IMSLP, accessed July 30, 2021, https://imslp.org/wiki/2_Violin_Concertos%2C_Op.3_(Saint-Georges%2C_Joseph_Bologne).
Cut IDs
21322