Elan Quintet – Onslow: String Quintets, Vol. 4 – Nos. 23 & 31 (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 59:19 minutes | 3,83 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Naxos
“Georges Onslow is best known for a body of chamber music that follows the musical lineage of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. A master of the quintet medium, Onslow offered variations of ensemble to players, the two presented here being cast for string quartet and double bass. The tempestuous Quintet No. 23 in A minor is charged with almost ceaseless nervous energy and Schubertian lyricism; the mature Quintet No. 31 in A major is both subtle and elegant, with a brilliant assemblage of details such as walking bass and violin-cello duets.”
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Elan Quintet – Onslow: String Quintets, Vol. 3 – Nos. 28 & 29 (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 01:00:43 minutes | 2,18 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Naxos
As a pianist and cellist Georges Onslow had a particular affinity with chamber music, and his String Quintets are given an almost orchestral quality with their addition of the rich sonorities of a double bass. String Quintet No. 28, with an especially beautiful Adagio with more than a trace of the influence of Mendelssohn, combines Baroque poise with expressive Romantic writing, while String Quintet No. 29 is light-hearted and good-natured, with hints of Schubert in its melancholy lyricism and unexpected key changes. In praising the Elan Quintet’s first volume (8.573600) a MusicWeb International reviewer declared, ‘I cannot fault their playing: their tonal quality is ravishing, their ensemble perfect.’
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