Presents
George Onslow
String Quintet No.4 in g minor, Op.17-New Edition
For 2 Violins, Viola & 2 Cellos
Onslow's String Quintet No.4 in g minor, in many ways made his name for him, especially in Germany and England. When it was published by Breitkopf & Härtel in 1822, a year after it was completed, critics placed him in the front rank of chamber music composers and called him the equal of Beethoven, Spohr, the Rombergs and Ferdinand Ries. The work achieved great popularity and was often performed during his lifetime. The opening movement, Allegro spirituoso e espressivo, begins with a haunting melody full of yearning and charm. The second movement, Menuetto, allegro, with its thrusting themes and forward motion is much closer to a scherzo. A lovely, lyrical Andante cantabile comes next. The finale, Allegro vivace, is a real 'barn burner' which races along in breathless fashion.
Schumann and Mendelssohn ranked Onslow's chamber music with that of Mozart, Beethoven and Haydn. As such, George Onslow (1784-1853), certainly illustrates the fickleness of fame. During his lifetime, Onslow, above all, was known as the composer of string quintets for 2 violins, viola and 2 cellos. With the exception of Boccherini, all of the other major composers before him, including Mozart and Beethoven, wrote string quintets for 2 violins, 2 violas and cello. (Schubert's great work remained undiscovered until 1850 and unknown for another decade after that.) He was born the son of an English father and French mother. His 36 string quartets and 34 string quintets were, during his own lifetime and up to the end of the 19th century, held in the highest regard, 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. As tastes changed 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.
Our edition has removed the so-called "false treble clef" in the first cello part which appears extensively in all of the other previous editions and which has always been a problem for cellists. Instead, we have substituted the bass and tenor clefs which greatly improves the readability. We have also added rehearsal numbers which no previous edition has had. You may have noticed that our soundbites include a bass rather than a second cello. Although unlike later quintets, Onslow did not write a specific bass part which could be used in lieu of cello II, virtually all of his quintets with 2 cellos can be played very effectively with a bass instead of a second cello.
Parts: $29.95
Parts & Score: $38.95
