George Onslow - String Quintets Vol. 2 (Elan Quintet)

Information

Composer: George Onslow

• (01) String Quintet No. 10 in F minor, Op. 32
• (05) String Quintet No. 22 in E flat major, Op. 57

Elan Quintet
Benjamin Scherer Quesada, violin
Lelia Iancovici, violin
Julia Chu-Ying Hu, viola
Dmitri Tsirin, cello
Matthew Baker, double bass

Date: 2017
Label: Naxos
https://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.573689

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Review

In the early 19th century neither England nor France was particularly renowned for its great composers. Yet Anglo-French George Onslow’s music is finally re-establishing its place in both catalogue and concert hall. He was, Schumann admiringly commented, among the heirs to the chamber music style of Mozart and Haydn – and his music’s atmosphere also seems a refined sibling to Schubert and Weber, oozing geniality and charm. Essentially an amateur composer (he was of the nobility) he wrote most of his numerous string quintets for like-minded amateur players: the format could be the same as Schubert’s string quintet with two cellos or, as in this recording, one cello and bass.

Receiving their world premiere recordings, the F minor String Quintet No. 10 of 1827 and the E flat major Quintet No. 22 of 1836 are lucky to have the Elan Quintet at their service. Their playing evokes the spirited conversation, lightness of touch and soulful hinted darkness in the Schubertian, early-Romantic E flat Quintet, as well as the vivid interchanges of the more dramatic and Beethovenian-at-a-tangent F minor. The Elan players’ sympathy for the music smiles out of every bar.

-- Jessica Duchen, BBC Music Magazine

More reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2017/Oct/Onslow_quintets_v2_8573689.htm
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2017/Nov/Onslow_quintets_v2_8573689.htm
https://www.naxos.com/reviews/reviewslist.asp?catalogueid=8.573689&languageid=EN

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George Onslow (27 July 1784 – 3 October 1853) was a French composer of English descent. His wealth, position and personal tastes allowed him to pursue a path unfamiliar to most of his French contemporaries, and more similar to that of his contemporary German romantic composers. Onslow was a prolific composer of chamber music (including 36 string quartets, 34 string quintets and 10 piano trios). He also wrote four symphonies, four operas and other works for piano and strings. Esteemed by many of the critics of his time, his reputation declined swiftly after his death and has only been revived in recent years.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Onslow_(composer)

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http://elanquintet.com/

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