Presents
George Onslow
String Quartet No.12 in E flat Major, Op.10 No.3-New Edition
George Onslow (1784-1853) was held to be in the front rank of composers by such experts as Mendelssohn and Schumann, who freely compared his quartets to those of Mozart and Beethoven and found them not to be wanting. Perhaps no composer more than George Onslow illustrates the fickleness of fame. Onslow was born and lived his entire life in France, the son of an English father and French mother. His string quartets and 34 string quintets were a constant feature of concert programs throughout the 19th century, particularly in Germany, Austria and England where he was regularly placed in the front rank of composers. His work was admired by both Beethoven and Schubert, the latter modeling his own 2 cello quintet (D.956) on those of Onslow and not, as is so often claimed, on those of Boccherini. Such was Onslow’s reputation that he was elected to succeed Cherubini as Director of the prestigious Académie des Beaux-Arts, based on the excellence of his chamber music and this, in an “Opera Mad France”, which had little regard for chamber music. However, after the First World War, his music, along with that of so many other fine composers, fell into oblivion and up until 1984, the bicentennial of his birth, he remained virtually unknown. Since then, his music, to the delight of players and listeners alike, is slowly being rediscovered, played and recorded. Onslow’s writing was unique in that he was successfully able to merge the drama of the opera into the chamber music idiom perfected by the Vienna masters.
String Quartet No.12 was composed between 1813-1815, the last of a set of three. The opening movement begins with a somber, almost ominous Largo introduction but the Allegro con brio, which follows and which is the main part of the movement, is bright and upbeat. The second movement, Andante sostenuto, though not so marked appears to be a theme and set of variations. Next comes a Menuetto allegro which is dominated more by its rhythm than the melodic material. It is certainly not the kind of minuet which could danced to. In some ways, it is closer to a scherzo. The finale, Allegro vivace, begins by a series of explosive passages which give way to a series of nervious, frenetic racing passages.
Parts: $29.95
Score & Parts: $36.95
