Georges Onslow

[david johnson]

I had not heard Onslow's music until today.  I enjoyed his sym1 and 4.  You guys listen to him very often?

[Gurn Blanston]

I had not heard Onslow's music until today.  I enjoyed his sym1 and 4.  You guys listen to him very often?

I like his symphonies, but his forte is chamber music. I am very fond of his many quartets and quintets. Here's a thread that is semi-active and fairly informative.

http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,13552.msg334409.html#msg334409

[aligreto]

I would agree that the chamber music is definitely worth investigating.

[david johnson]

Thanks, guys.  I'll be checking into his chamber works.

[amw]

Onslow wrote many works of high quality (in terms of craftsmanship) that can at times seem not very distinct from one another, despite the consistently wide variety of invention: I think this is because he sticks to four-movement plans most of the time, doesn't write a lot of good tunes and doesn't aim for originality. I think this recording is the most satisfying overall that I know: http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=138490

[SonicMan46]

The post and my reply below were in the 'Purchases Thread' late last month - I already owned a number of Onslow's String Quintets, so was curious 'how many' he wrote and whether the 3 volume Naxos series were going to duplicate what I had in my collection - SO, put together a list of the composer's opus numbers in this genre, nearly 3 dozen - w/ the addition of Naxos V. 2 & 3, I now have 14 of these quintets - thought this list should belong in the short and neglected thread on Onslow; hopefully, some more contributions will follow.  Dave

I have these on preorder:

   

The first 2 volumes have been highly enjoyable.

Hi New Erato - I'm a big George Onslow fan (20+ CDs at the moment), so the Vol. 3 offering above piqued my interest - checking his Composition List, he wrote 34 String Quintets (see first quote below) for those interested - SO, had to see what I already owned - nearly a third w/ just one duplication (second quote) - AND surprisingly, the 4 quintets on the Naxos V. 2 & 3 (own V. 1) are not in my collection - will put on my 'want list' - thanks.  Dave
.

Op. 1 - 3 Quintets (1806) (Nos. 1-3)
Op. 17, 18, 19 (1821) (Nos. 4, 5, 6)
Op. 23, 24, 25 (1823) (Nos. 7, 8, 9)
Op. 32, 33, 34, 35 (1826-28) (Nos. 10-13)
Op. 37, 38, 39, 40 (1828-30) (Nos. 14-17)
Op. 43, 44, 45 (1832) (Nos. 18-20)
Op. 51 (1834) (No. 21)
Op. 57, 58, 59 (1835-37) (Nos. 22-24)
Op. 61 (1837) (No. 25)
Op. 67, 68 (1843-44) (Nos. 26, 27)
Op. 72, 73, 74, 75 (1847-48) (Nos. 28-31)
Op. 78 (1848) (No. 32)
Op. 80,82 (1849-50) (Nos. 33, 34)

George Onslow's String Quintets Owned:

No. 10 F minor - Op. 32*
No. 11 E minor - Op. 33"
No. 12 A minor - Op. 34+
No. 13 G Major - Op. 35+
No. 15 C minor - Op. 38+
No. 19 C minor - Op. 44#
No. 20 D minor - Op. 45*
No. 22 EF Major - Op. 57*
No. 26 C minor - Op. 67*+
No. 27 D Major - Op. 68^
No. 28 G minor - Op. 72*
No. 29 E FMajor - Op. 73*
No. 30 B FMajor - Op. 74"
No. 33 C minor - Op. 80^

*Elan Quintet (Naxos)
+Quintett Momento Musicale (MDG)
"Ensemble Concertant Frankfurt (MDG)
^Sextuor a Cordes France (Erato)
#Mandelring Quartett (CPO)

[SonicMan46]

Quoted below is a post just left in the Listening Thread, which I wanted to repost here - just a note to our mods, i.e. there are 3 'short' threads below on George Onslow - can these be combined?  Might help others just to find one link in a search.  Dave

http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,27654.msg1187992.html#msg1187992
http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,652.0.html
http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,13552.0.html

Onslow, George - Piano Trios w/ Trio Cascades - 4 discs - listening yesterday and this morning; Onslow wrote 10 'Piano Trios' (i.e. piano, violin, & cello) as shown below w/ a long time gap between Op. 26/27 and Op. 81 (he died in 1853) - all of the trios are included on the CDs in this series.  Dave

Op. 3, No. 1-3 (1806)
Op. 14, No. 1-3 (1818)
Op. 20 (1822)
Op. 26 & 27 (1824)
Op. 83 (1851)

   

[SonicMan46]

String Quintets UPDATE! - below are quotes from my post nearly 4 years ago in this thread - Onslow composed 34 works in this genre - since my last quotes below - I've added a half dozen works bringing my total up to 20; actually 21 because L'Archibudelli gets 3 quintets onto a single disc and the other one is already there, Op. 38 (No. 15) known as The Bullet (an interesting story!) - will take a look on my usual sites to see if I can go further.  Now on to a look at the String Quartets, which are less represented in my collection.  Dave

Op. 1 - 3 Quintets (1806) (Nos. 1-3)
Op. 17, 18, 19 (1821) (Nos. 4, 5, 6)
Op. 23, 24, 25 (1823) (Nos. 7, 8, 9)
Op. 32, 33, 34, 35 (1826-28) (Nos. 10-13)
Op. 37, 38, 39, 40 (1828-30) (Nos. 14-17)
Op. 43, 44, 45 (1832) (Nos. 18-20)
Op. 51 (1834) (No. 21)
Op. 57, 58, 59 (1835-37) (Nos. 22-24)
Op. 61 (1837) (No. 25)
Op. 67, 68 (1843-44) (Nos. 26, 27)
Op. 72, 73, 74, 75 (1847-48) (Nos. 28-31)
Op. 78 (1848) (No. 32)
Op. 80,82 (1849-50) (Nos. 33, 34)

George Onslow's String Quintets Owned: UPDATES in BOLD

No. 06 E minor - Op. 19%
No. 10 F minor - Op. 32*
No. 11 E minor - Op. 33"
No. 12 A minor - Op. 34+
No. 13 G Major - Op. 35+
No. 15 C minor - Op. 38+
No. 16 E minor - Op. 39$
No. 17 B minor - Op. 40$
No. 19 C minor - Op. 44#
No. 20 D minor - Op. 45*
No. 21 G minor - Op. 51%
No. 22 EF Major - Op. 57*
No. 23 A Minor - Op. 58*
No. 26 C minor - Op. 67*+
No. 27 D Major - Op. 68^
No. 28 G minor - Op. 72*
No. 29 E FMajor - Op. 73*
No. 30 B FMajor - Op. 74"
No. 31 A Major - Op. 75*
No. 33 C minor - Op. 80^

%Diogenes Quartett
$L'Archibudelli
*Elan Quintet (Naxos) (4 Vols.)
+Quintett Momento Musicale (MDG)
"Ensemble Concertant Frankfurt (MDG)
^Sextuor a Cordes France (Erato)
#Mandelring Quartett (CPO)

[kyjo]

Due to the fact that he was so prolific, Onslow's output is understandably rather uneven. His best works, though, exude spark, vigor, and virtuosic flair. Some works of his that have impressed me are his Symphonies 2 and 4, String Quartet in G minor op. 46/3, and String Quintet no. 15 in C minor The Bullet (inspired by a hunting accident that he suffered). No doubt there are some other gems in his oeuvre awaiting my discovery.

[SonicMan46]

Onslow's Piano Trios - love early/later Romantic piano trios (and those earlier!  ) - below a post that I left nearly 3 years ago in this thread - George wrote 10 of these works, as listed - the Trio Cascades has released 4 discs - are these worth a listen?  I enjoy them and feel the composing and the performances improve through the series of recordings - the reviews have been quite mixed (see the attachment if interested) w/ Jerry Dubins being dismissive in the generally mediocre Fanfare comments (3 reviews included) - if reviewing on Amazon, I'd probably give these 4*/5* ratings (maybe a half going down for the initial release and up a half for the final efforts?) - for me I enjoy Onslow's piano chamber writing but don't expect Beethoven; also, my preference is still for his chamber string works - would certainly be curious on what others think?  Dave

Onslow, George - Piano Trios w/ Trio Cascades - 4 discs - listening yesterday and this morning; Onslow wrote 10 'Piano Trios' (i.e. piano, violin, & cello) as shown below w/ a long time gap between Op. 26/27 and Op. 81 (he died in 1853) - all of the trios are included on the CDs in this series.  Dave

Op. 3, No. 1-3 (1806)
Op. 14, No. 1-3 (1818)
Op. 20 (1822)
Op. 26 & 27 (1824)
Op. 83 (1851)

   

[amw]

Due to the fact that he was so prolific, Onslow's output is understandably rather uneven.

Honestly, I don't think he's uneven. He's an incredibly consistent composer. He just tends to have certain stylistic hallmarks that get repeated often, and then yeah, a handful of exceptional works that wind up being slightly more memorable. I think of him as a 19th century Bohuslav Martinů: almost everything is recommendable, almost nothing is so great that it stands out.

[SonicMan46]

String Quartets - George wrote 36 works in this genre over a 40-year period - first quote are the Opus numbers and dates.  Second quote are the SQuartets in my collection (one duplication) on 5 recordings, or about a third of his output; this morning I've been sampling three of the CDs, shown below - plus, just purchased the fourth shown CD w/ Quatuor Ruggieri, 3 quartets from Op. 8 and 10, none in my collection - might call it quits unless some 'box' comes out?

BUT for those wanting to get into Onslow's music then explore the two posts I left on the String Quartets & Quintets, plenty of excellent music - Dave

George Onslow's String Quartet Output:
Op.  4 - 3 Quartets (1806) (Nos. 1-3)
Op.  8 - 3 Quartets (c. 1812) (Nos. 4-6)
Op.  9 - 3 Quartets (c. 1812) (Nos. 7-9)
Op. 10 - 3 Quartets (c. 1812) (Nos. 10-12)
Op. 21 - 3 Quartets (1822) (Nos. 13-15)
Op. 36 - 3 Quartets (1828) (Nos. 16-18)
Op. 46 - 3 Quartets (1832/3) (Nos. 19-21)
Op. 47- Quartet (1832/3) (No. 22)
Op. 48- Quartet (1833) (No. 23)
Op. 49- Quartet (1833) (No. 24)
Op. 50- Quartet (1833) (No. 25)
Op. 52- Quartet (1834) (No. 26)
Op. 53- Quartet (1834) (No. 27)
Op. 54- Quartet (1834) (No. 28)
Op. 55- Quartet (1834) (No. 29)
Op. 56- Quartet (1834) (No. 30)
Op. 62- Quartet (1841) (No. 31)
Op. 63- Quartet (1841) (No. 32)
Op. 64- Quartet (1841) (No. 33)
Op. 65- Quartet (1842) (No. 34)
Op. 66- Quartet (1843) (No. 35)
Op. 69- Quartet (1845/6) (No. 36)

George Onslow's String Quartets Owned:
No. 01 Bf Major - Op. 4 (No. 1)*
No. 04 C minor - Op. 8 (No. 1)@
No. 07 G minor - Op. 9 (No. 1)^
No. 09 F minor - Op. 9 (No. 3)^
No. 10 G Major - Op. 10 (No. 1)*
No. 19 Fs Major - Op. 46 (No. 1)+
No. 20 F Major - Op. 46 (No. 2)@
No. 21 G minor - Op. 46 (No. 3)*
No. 22 C Major - Op. 47^
No. 25 Bf Major - Op. 50@
No. 28 Ef Major - Op. 54#
No. 29 D Minor - Op. 55#
No. 30 C minor - Op. 56+#

*Mandelring Quartett (CPO 999 392-2)
+Coull String Quartet (ASV 808)
#Quatuor Diotima (Naive 5200)
^Mandelring Quartett (CPO 999 060-2)
@Mandelring Quartett (CPO 999 793-2)