Onslow initially followed the string quintet form perfected by Mozart (adding a viola) and Boccherini (using two cellos), but later incorporated a double bass into his quintets after a successful substitution in London.
Interpretation
On this recording, double bassist Matthew Baker has edited the second cello part for Quintet No. 14, making octave concessions to suit the lower instrument, based on Onslow's own suggestion for this instrumentation.
Recording & Production
This album features world premiere recordings of Georges Onslow's String Quintets Nos. 14 and 24 in the version for string quartet and double bass.
Composer Biography
Georges Onslow, the composer, had a cosmopolitan background with an English father and French mother, and his father was a controversial figure who fled England and was exiled from France.
Critical Reception
By 1830, Onslow's reputation had grown, with publisher Camille Pleyel labeling him 'our French Beethoven,' and both Beethoven and Schubert reportedly admired his music.
Composer Biography
Onslow's musical epiphany occurred in 1801 in Paris, after hearing the Overture to Étienne-Nicolas Méhul's opera Stratonice, which inspired him to study cello and begin composing.
Critical Reception
Robert Schumann, a prominent German composer and critic, owned several of Onslow's autograph scores and mentioned him alongside Mendelssohn as composers approaching Beethoven's greatness in string quartets.
