Did Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ever meet?
Contemporaries, both prodigies and musical savants, one French and the other Austrian, Bologne and Mozart did indeed cross paths at least once in 1778, for about three months when they both were hosted in the French quartier, Chaussée d’Antin, in Paris. Mozart lived at the home of Friedrich Melchior, Baron von Grimm, who was also well acquainted with Bologne. Joseph Bologne lived across the courtyard, working as the music director of Madame de Montesson’s private theater, which the two residences shared. Bologne was over a decade Mozart’s senior, and musicologists can show that Mozart heard and was influenced by Bologne’s compositions; yet it’s left to the imagination what the contemporaries thought of each other: admiration? envy? collegiality? rivalry? In 1778, Mozart was grieving the recent death of his mother. He also strongly disliked the French people, language, and culture in general, so perhaps was in a darker, less social mood at this point in his life. While the two likely did meet and knew of each other’s work and reputation, it’s unclear whether they spent much if any time in each other’s company.