Bob Draper:

>However, there is a definately true story that a black slave living
>in Cornwall, England in the late 18th century wrote excellent music.
>Apparently, he was a virtuoso violinist as well.  I think some of the
>fellow's music survives but much has been lost.  Can anyone supply a
>name for him?

If he was a slave living in Cornwall, he probably worked in a mine and
thus would have been a miner-composer...

I don't know of the Cornwall connection but your man sounds like Joseph
Boulogne Chevalier de Saint-Georges (c1739-1799), born Guadeloupe, died
Paris.  I recall an LP of his music on CBS (?) including a violin concerto
or a sinfonia concertante or both.

An even longer shot is George Bridgetower (?1779-1860) who was born
in Poland and whose father was African.  He was a virtuoso violinist
but I don't know of any compositions.  He was the original dedicatee
of Beethoven's Kretutzer sonata.

Richard Pennycuick
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