MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2024
60,000 reviews
... and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             

Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger

REVIEW Plain text for smartphones & printers

Support us financially by purchasing this from

Georges ONSLOW (1784 - 1853)
String Quintets - Volume 1
String Quintet No.20 in D minor Op.45 (1831) [31.22]
String Quintet No.26 in C minor Op.67 (1845) [33.38]
Elan Quintet
Benjamin Scherer Quesada (violin), Lelia Iancovici (violin), Julia Chu-Ying Hu (viola), Dmitri Tsirin (cello), Matthew Baker (double bass)
rec. Auditorio de Rafelbunyol, Rafelbunyol, Valencia, December 2015
NAXOS 8.573600 [65.06]

Georges Onslow is a composer whose stock has slowly risen in the last few years, especially for his chamber works. This new CD, marking yet another new – and very welcome – series from Naxos, amply demonstrates why this should be so.

Onslow, despite his English surname, was a French-born-and-based composer, though he spent some time in London. He was a gentleman composer, wealthy enough to compose for his own interest. Of most abiding interest are the string quartets (36 of these) and the 34 string quintets. If the remainder match the quality of the two on this CD, this will be a series to follow avidly, especially in performances as good as these.

In some of the earlier quintets, Onslow chose to use two violas or two cellos. He was not immediately convinced by the use of the double bass. On a visit to London, Onslow discovered a missing cellist, and was persuaded to let the part be filled by Domenico Dragonetti, a virtuoso bassist. Despite his reluctance, Onslow admired the depth provided and began to write supplementary parts (No.20 was originally written for two cellos but here uses the double bass parts) or to compose for the double bass (as in No.26 here). The effect is to give depth and weight to the music, something appropriate to the seriousness with which Onslow takes his work. In both quintets, there is a seriousness to the music as well as moments of quiet reflectiveness, as in the lovely Andante cantabile of No. 20 – for me, this movement alone would make this CD a must-buy. One can understand the admiration of Berlioz and Schumann, and even why the later thought Onslow a major composer of chamber music. Just occasionally, transitions are a little less smooth than with the greatest masters, but that does not detract from either the beauty of the interest of these pieces.

The Valencia-based, but international, Elan Quintet (an ensemble new to me), play with evident devotion, interest and excellence in a wonderfully clear performance. I shall return to this issue often and enthusiastically.

Michael Wilkinson

Previous review: David Barker

 



Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Chandos recordings
All Chandos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing