The Other Mozart: The Life of the Famous Chevalier de Saint-George

American Music Teacher, June-July, 2007 by Diane Higgins

* The Other Mozart: The Life of the Famous Chevalier de Saint-George, by Hugh Brewster. Abrams Books for Young Readers (www.hnabooks.com), 2006. 48 pp. $18.95.

While telling the life story of Chevalier de Saint-George, Hugh Brewster gives the reader a historical documentation, which covers the French Revolution and the struggle for Haitian independence. Born to a slave mother and a wealthy French father on the island of Guadeloupe, Joseph Bologne was renamed Chevalier de Saint-George and educated as a young aristocrat in Paris, France. Known as the other Mozart (the black Mozart), he overcame every social obstacle with accomplishments as a virtuoso violinist, composer, conductor, champion swordsman, and later as a military commander in the French Revolution.

Each page is inter-laced with historical sidebars and timelines (featured in contrasting colors). These inserts tell the reader information regarding fencing, the guillotine and the French revolution, while highlighting the lives of Marie Antoinette, Franz-Josef Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Because of the position of the inserts, the reader may choose to simply read the story, or include the inserts as they progress through the narrative.

Award winner, Eric Velasquez, illustrates the book with colorful archival paintings and informative period artefacts. His work is well placed on the page and compliments the corresponding text.

The book concludes with the author's note, stating that after hearing chevalier de Saint-George's music on the radio, he was most inspired to write at book for young readers. I disagree with the suggestion that this book is for children, because of the graphic descriptions and two page illustrations of how a guillotine is used. I would recommend this book to an older student, who would have studied a curriculum of historical events, and could place the guillotine in a suitable perspective.

Until recently, very little was known about this gifted musician. By transporting the reader from the West Indies plantations to the palace of Versailles, Hugh Brewster's exceptional portrayal of Chevalier de Saint-George comes to life!--Reviewed by Diane Higgins, NCTM, Charlotte, North Carolina

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