Director Stephen Williams’ new film, Chevalier, starts with a concert that shatters any preconceived notions audiences might have about classical music. Staid and unexciting, it is not, when Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Joseph Prowen) is introduced at the height of his fame, on tour and performing in Paris. The audience loves the ebbs and the flows of the sound from the orchestra, and at the end of the concert, Mozart asks the audience for requests. It is then that a Black man who we later find out is Joseph Bologne (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) stands up and asks to play onstage with Mozart. Suddenly, via Bologne’s rendition, one of Mozart’s own compositions is filled with a new energy and flair. There’s dueling violins and sensational solos as Mozart tries to keep up with Bologne. But he cannot. Bologne’s confidence is more than youthful egotism; he is clearly a...
- 4/21/2023
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, should have been as famous as Mozart — except he wasn’t.
Stephen Williams‘ new film “Chevalier” starring Kelvin Harrison Jr. as the titular violinist explores why. From Searchlight Pictures, the film opens in theaters on April 21 and follows Chevalier, a name bestowed on him after he caught the attention of Marie Antoinette, the illegitimate son of an African slave and plantation owner. Before bursting onto the scene, he performed violin concertos while building his fencing skills, becoming known as the “Black Mozart.”
In a clip from the film, Bologne takes on a challenge against Mozart (Joseph Prowen), accepting a violin duel.
As previously reported, Harrison Jr. spent months perfecting his violin skills to portray Chevalier. Michael Abels shared composing duties with Kris Bowers and wrote the on-camera musical performances.
For the film’s opening scene that introduces the talents of Bologne to the French upper class,...
Stephen Williams‘ new film “Chevalier” starring Kelvin Harrison Jr. as the titular violinist explores why. From Searchlight Pictures, the film opens in theaters on April 21 and follows Chevalier, a name bestowed on him after he caught the attention of Marie Antoinette, the illegitimate son of an African slave and plantation owner. Before bursting onto the scene, he performed violin concertos while building his fencing skills, becoming known as the “Black Mozart.”
In a clip from the film, Bologne takes on a challenge against Mozart (Joseph Prowen), accepting a violin duel.
As previously reported, Harrison Jr. spent months perfecting his violin skills to portray Chevalier. Michael Abels shared composing duties with Kris Bowers and wrote the on-camera musical performances.
For the film’s opening scene that introduces the talents of Bologne to the French upper class,...
- 4/10/2023
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
Though his life and accomplishments were largely erased under Napoleon, the extraordinary figure at the center of Stephen Williams’ “Chevalier” really did exist. Born on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, the son of a white plantation owner and his Black slave, Joseph Bologne went on to excel in spheres rarely accessible to people of color in 18th-century French society. Here was a champion swordsman and celebrated musician invited to play his violin at Versailles, where Marie Antoinette reportedly accompanied him on the harpsichord.
So why has it taken so long for his story to be told?
The time certainly seems right to rediscover the Chevalier — an honorary title that reveals how high Bologne rose under France’s overtly racist Code Noir, as well as a fitting name for the film. A compelling example of Black excellence dating back even before the French Revolution, the English-language “Chevalier” doesn’t feel nearly...
So why has it taken so long for his story to be told?
The time certainly seems right to rediscover the Chevalier — an honorary title that reveals how high Bologne rose under France’s overtly racist Code Noir, as well as a fitting name for the film. A compelling example of Black excellence dating back even before the French Revolution, the English-language “Chevalier” doesn’t feel nearly...
- 4/5/2023
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
When Joseph Bologne, the Chevalier de Saint-Georges, died in Paris in 1799, his friend — J.S.A. Cuvelier — wrote an affectionate obituary about him in an arts newspaper. He called Saint-Georges “the most amazing of his century by the variety and superiority of his talents.” He sprinkled adjectives like “generous,” “gallant,” “witty” and “sensitive” throughout. There was little that Saint-Georges, the child of a white Frenchman and his Guadalupian slave mistress, could not do: He was a devoted friend, a champion of the people, a skilled fencer, a dancer, an intellectual and, perhaps most famously, a brilliant composer.
You might know Saint-Georges as the Black Mozart, an inaccurate shorthand that emerged with the revival of his legacy years ago. But the master of violin concertos was much more than the shadow of his white contemporaries, a sentiment underscored in Stephen Williams’ ebullient but tottering biopic Chevalier.
When Joseph Bologne, the Chevalier de Saint-Georges, died in Paris in 1799, his friend — J.S.A. Cuvelier — wrote an affectionate obituary about him in an arts newspaper. He called Saint-Georges “the most amazing of his century by the variety and superiority of his talents.” He sprinkled adjectives like “generous,” “gallant,” “witty” and “sensitive” throughout. There was little that Saint-Georges, the child of a white Frenchman and his Guadalupian slave mistress, could not do: He was a devoted friend, a champion of the people, a skilled fencer, a dancer, an intellectual and, perhaps most famously, a brilliant composer.
You might know Saint-Georges as the Black Mozart, an inaccurate shorthand that emerged with the revival of his legacy years ago. But the master of violin concertos was much more than the shadow of his white contemporaries, a sentiment underscored in Stephen Williams’ ebullient but tottering biopic Chevalier.
- 9/13/2022
- by Lovia Gyarkye
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.