Born in Guadeloupe, Chevalier de Saint-Georges enjoyed a career that inspired fictional embellishment. The son of a French planter and a slave of Senegalese origin, he settled with his parents in France, where his father, in 1757, was ennobled as Gentilhomme ordinaire de la chambre du roi. He was raised by his father to excel as a swordsman, an art in which he won an international reputation. At the same time he emerged as a virtuoso violinist and as a composer. He directed the Concert des Amateurs and then the Concert de la Loge Olympique, for which symphonies were commissioned from Haydn. He was in the service of the old Duke of Orléans, after whose death he spent some time in England (where he was involved in a fencing match with the transvestite Chevalier d’Eon). He returned to join the entourage of the new Duke of Orléans, known as Philippe Égalité. He was later a captain in the Guarde Nationale in Lille before founding his Légion Nationale des Américains et du Midi. Imprisoned during the days of The Terror, he spent his final years in Paris, where he tried to revive the instrumental music in which he had been so successful.

Stage and Instrumental Music
Saint-Georges wrote music for the theatre, including operas and works involving dance and song. His instrumental music includes Symphonies concertantes for two violins and a number of solo violin concertos. His chamber music includes quartets and violin sonatas.