During the next few years, he composed more concertos as well as string quartets and symphonies, which were well received by the Parisian public. His attempts at opera, despite his own sense of drama, did not fare as well. He had not given up his fencing, however, and in 1785, made an exhibition tour of England, performing before the Prince of Wales, and having his portrait painted. He lost his orchestra during the Revolution, and after a short stint in the military, became a short-term vagabond with a companion — the horn player, Lamothe, until his death in 1799.
Much of his music has been lost to time. The young violinist Rachel Barton has recently recorded one of his concertos.
In America, it would be another hundred years before any well-known and recognized Black composers would make their presence felt. Although born in Canada, R. Nathaniel Dett was primarily raised in New York state, where he attended school and began music lessons. He graduated from the Oberlin Conservatory in 1908, but continued to study at various locations, including Paris — with the famed Nadia Boulanger. His long tenure as director of music at Hampton Institute (1913-31) allowed him to bring the choir into international prominence. In addition, during those years, as well as the ones before and after, he composed and performed as concert pianist. He died in 1943.
William Grant Still was born in Mississippi in 1895, but moved to Little Rock as a child, after the death of his father, the town's band-master. Although he studied the violin during his teens, Still planned to be a doctor, but music won out — with a small interruption for Naval service in WWI. He also studied at Oberlin, both before and after the war, but eventually ended up in New York City, where, among other duties, he played oboe in theatre orchestras.
