Photo: Pierre-Roch Vigneron · Public domain · credits
Tier 3 · vertical & regionalfull biography
George Onslow
Person · male · France · Clermont-Ferrand · born 1784 · died 1853 · recording since 1993
French composer
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Also known as Georges Onslow · 乔治·翁斯洛
Timeline
32 events▣ Album 29◦ Birth 1† Death 1★ Debut release 1
1780s
1850s
1990s
· Debut release
Debut release: 3 String Quartets
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
2000s
2010s
· Album
Album: La musique de chambre avec vents (complete chamber music for wind instruments)
Album
source: musicbrainz
2020s
Biography
English biography1,743 words · 3 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1351350761
Biography
André George(s) Louis Onslow (27 July 1784 – 3 October 1853) was a French composer of English descent. His wealth, position and personal tastes allowed him to pursue a path unfamiliar to most of his French contemporaries, more similar to that of his contemporary German romantic composers; his music also had a strong following in Germany and in England. His principal output was chamber music, but he also wrote four symphonies and four operas. Onslow was esteemed by critics of his time, but his reputation declined swiftly after his death. It has only been revived in recent years.
Life
George Onslow was born in Clermont-Ferrand to an English father, Edward Onslow, and a French mother, Marie Rosalie de Bourdeilles de Brantôme; his paternal grandfather was George Onslow, 1st Earl of Onslow. In Onslow's own brief autobiography (written in the third person) he comments that in his childhood, "music studies formed but a secondary part of his education" but names Jan Ladislav Dussek and Johann Baptist Cramer amongst his piano teachers. It has been suggested that he received this tuition in London under the aegis of his grandfather the Earl. However, other research indicates he may not have studied with Dussek until 1797–1798 in Hamburg, where his family was living in exile after his father had become involved in counter-revolutionary activities in France. This research also indicates that there is no evidence to support the suggestions sometimes made that Onslow at any time visited Vienna, or that he met, or studied, there with Ludwig van Beethoven.
Onslow states in his autobiography that his attitude to music was transformed by his experience of hearing the overture to Étienne Méhul's opera Stratonice in Paris in 1801. In Onslow's own later words: "On hearing this piece, I experienced so lively an emotion in the depths of my soul that I sensed myself at once penetrated by feelings previously unknown to me; even today this moment is present in my thought. After this, I saw music with other eyes; the veil which had hidden its beauties from me was rent; it became the source of my most intimate joy, and the faithful companion of my life." This led him to compose his first string quintets (Op. 1 nos. 1–3) and string quartets (Op. 4 nos. 1–3), although he had not at this stage received any composition tuition. These were published at his own expense; Onslow was always wealthy and did not need critical or financial support. The critic François-Joseph Fétis noted that, despite his absence of training, Onslow "had all the leisure necessary to overcome these obstacles". Onslow learnt to play the cello, and would play the chamber music of Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven with other local amateurs. However, aware of the need to develop his technical musical skills, in 1808 he began to study composition with Anton Reicha in Paris. At this time he also married a French heiress, Charlotte Françoise Delphine de Fontanges, by whom he was to have three children.
Onslow based himself near Clermont-Ferrand, initially at his father's Château de Chalendrat at Mirefleurs (where at the age of six he had planted many of the trees), later at Château de Bellerives at Perignat, La Roche-Noire. He typically visited Paris during the winter (concert) season, when his works were often performed by musicians including the violinists Pierre Baillot and Théophile Tilmant, and the brothers Dancla, who gave quartet concerts. In 1824 and 1827 his first two operas, L'Alcalde de la vega and Le colporteur, were premiered at the Théâtre Feydeau in Paris under the auspices of the Opéra-Comique. Le colporteur was also produced in Germany, and even (in a very mangled version, in 1831), in London. In 1825 in Paris he met the 16-year-old Felix Mendelssohn, who enjoyed a performance of one of Onslow's quartets but was surprised that he was not aware of Beethoven's opera Fidelio. Onslow was an early enthusiast of the music of Hector Berlioz, whose Eight scenes from Faust (1829) and overture Les francs-juges (1830) he praised. In 1829, after Onslow had commenced his quintet op. 38 (his fifteenth), he was very seriously wounded in a hunting accident, which left him partially deaf in one ear; completing the quintet in the aftermath, he named the final movements "Fever", "Convalescence" and "Recovery". The work was subtitled "De la Balle" ("The Bullet").
Throughout the 1820s, Onslow's reputation continued to grow both in France and abroad as a series of trios, quartets and quintets were published. Onslow's publishers in Paris were Ignaz and Camille Pleyel. In 1818 his works began to be published in Germany by Breitkopf und Härtel and in Austria by C. F. Peters; the same year saw the first writings about his works by German music critics. Other German publishers, including Hoffmeister, Steiner and Simrock, followed in later years. In the 1830s, Onslow's quartets were in the repertoire of the Müller Quartet, which played them at the Meiningen court of Duke Bernhard II, and of the Prague-based quartet of Friedrich Pixis the younger.
In 1831 Onslow was elected the second Honorary Fellow of the Philharmonic Society of London (Felix Mendelssohn had been the first). He wrote for the Society his Second Symphony, Op. 42, and continued to maintain close relations with leading London musicians including John Ella and George Frederick Anderson. In 1834, Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt played Onslow's Grand Sonata for four hands Op. 22 at their debut joint performance in Paris. From 1835 to 1838 Onslow was the President of the Athenée musical in Paris, an association founded in 1829 "to propagate the study and the spirit of music", with the intention of bringing together both amateurs and professionals. The year 1837 saw the premiere in Paris of Onslow's third (and last) opera Le duc de Guise. In 1839 Onslow founded the "Société Philharmonique de Clermont" in which the émigré Polish violinist Alexandre Tarnowski was very active. Performances were given of Onslow's own chamber music, and also of his opera Guise, including passages which had been cut from the Paris performances. At the instigation of Tarnowski, Onslow also hosted in Clermont-Ferrand the Polish-Jewish xylophonist and rival of Josef Gusikov, Sankson Jakubowski.
In 1842 Onslow's wealth increased on the death of his father-in-law, who owned extensive property. In the same year his French musical prestige was consolidated when he succeeded Luigi Cherubini as a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts. Invited to the Aachen music festival in 1846, in the following year, on what may have been his last journey outside France, Onslow conducted his Fourth Symphony in Cologne, at the Niederrheinisches Musikfest. During his last years he wrote a number of pieces for large chamber ensemble with piano, including quintets, a sextet (Op. 77b) and a septet (Op. 79); he also wrote a nonet (op. 77a) for strings and woodwind. Onslow died unexpectedly (although after a period of declining health) in Clermont-Ferrand in 1853, after taking a morning walk.
Onslow was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour in 1837.
Music
Onslow was a prolific composer of chamber music (including 36 string quartets and 34 string quintets). He also wrote 10 piano trios, three performed operas (an early opera, Les deux oncles, remains in manuscript) and four symphonies, apart from various works for solo piano, piano duet, and sonatas for solo strings and piano. Of his string quintets, the first three (Op. 1) were written for two violins, two violas and cello, as with the quintets of Mozart. The remainder were nearly all written for two violins, one viola, and two cellos. After hearing the virtuoso double-bassist Domenico Dragonetti step in to play in a performance of his tenth quintet, Onslow began to provide in his subsequent quintets the option of replacing one of the cellos with a double-bass.
Onslow's emphasis on instrumental music, and his base in Clermont-Ferrand, set him apart from many French composers of his era, for whom opera was a principal aspiration – the period after 1830, in particular, was a time when Paris led the world in grand opera. His interest in chamber ensembles and forms seemed to align him more closely with German musical traditions. Moreover, being possessed of an independent fortune, he could write for himself rather than needing to pander to the desires of audiences or impresarios. Fétis complained in 1830: "Nature worked in vain to have a Haydn or a Beethoven born in France; such talent was better concealed in the capital than are diamonds deep in the earth. It was the same with chamber music such as quartets and quintets. If M. Onslow has been able to establish a fine reputation in this genre, it is because his social position renders him independent...he is still better known abroad than in France. The lack of encouragement for instrumental music, a taste for futilities, and other secondary causes which it would be too tedious to detail, have left us insensible to anything but fantasies, variations and other trivia."
Such comments enabled Onslow's publisher Camille Pleyel, in the same year, to promote the composer as "notre Beethoven français" ("our French Beethoven"), an epithet which was to be frequently repeated by critics, and was also a trigger for rebuttal by those not so convinced of the similarity; as for example Paul Scudo who wrote in 1854 that to compare Onslow with Beethoven was like comparing Casimir Delavigne (a popular librettist of the time) with Shakespeare. Indeed Onslow himself would have disowned comparison with Beethoven's late style, according to his conversation as recorded by the music journalist Joseph d'Ortigue: "The last quartets of Beethoven are mistakes, absurdities, the reveries of a sick genius....I would burn everything I have composed if I someday wrote anything resembling such chaos." However Onslow's interest in classical forms and counterpoint, and the styles of emotional expressiveness in his music, place his music close to the works of his teacher Reicha, and to Onslow's German and Austrian contemporaries of early Romantic music, such as Moscheles, Hummel, and Schubert. In the opinion of Robert Schumann, only Onslow and Mendelssohn approached Beethoven's mastery of the quartet form.
In the years after his death, Onslow's reputation progressively declined. When Richard Wagner was conducting the overture to the opera L'Alcalde de la Vega in London for the Philharmonic Society in 1855, he found it "trivial" and threatened to quit his contract for the rest of the Society's concert series. However, from the late twentieth century onwards, commercial recordings of his music began to appear.
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 20 | 81.1th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 30 | 90.4th |
| Studio albums | 30 | 98.2th |
| Awards recorded | 1 | 89th |
| Timeline events | 32 | 97.1th |
| Recording span (years) | -140 | 4.3th |
| Genres | 7 | 93th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (30 release groups · 30 studio albums)
Albums · 30
1993 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 1:10:25
1String Quartet, op. 9 no. 1 in G minor: Allegro6:282String Quartet, op. 9 no. 1 in G minor: Andante8:233String Quartet, op. 9 no. 1 in G minor: Menuetto3:124String Quartet, op. 9 no. 1 in G minor: Agitato4:085String Quartet, op. 9 no. 3 in F minor: Moderato8:526String Quartet, op. 9 no. 3 in F minor: Menuetto3:067String Quartet, op. 9 no. 3 in F minor: Andante5:518String Quartet, op. 9 no. 3 in F minor: Allegro5:029String Quartet, op. 47 in C major: Lento – Allegro10:5910String Quartet, op. 47 in C major: Menuetto3:3011String Quartet, op. 47 in C major: Andante6:3312String Quartet, op. 47 in C major: Presto4:21String Quintets Opp. 38, 39 & 40
1995 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 1:16:43
1String Quintet No. 15 in C Minor, Op. 38 "The Bullet": I. Allegro moderato ed espressivo9:152String Quintet No. 15 in C Minor, Op. 38 "The Bullet": II. Menuetto, Presto, Dolore - Febbre e delirio4:243String Quintet No. 15 in C Minor, Op. 38 "The Bullet": III. Andante sostenuto, Convalescenza4:104String Quintet No. 15 in C Minor, Op. 38 "The Bullet": IV. Finale, Guarigione7:305String Quintet No. 16 in E Major, Op. 39: I. Introduzione, Largo - Allegro spirituoso8:326String Quintet No. 16 in E Major, Op. 39: II. Adagio grandioso5:307String Quintet No. 16 in E Major, Op. 39: III. Menuetto, Allegretto moderato, La malinconia4:338String Quintet No. 16 in E Major, Op. 39: IV. Finale, Allegretto5:509String Quintet in B Minor, Op. 40: I. Allegro risoluto9:3510String Quintet in B Minor, Op. 40: II. Minuetto, Presto3:2811String Quintet in B Minor, Op. 40: III. Adagio cantabile6:5912String Quintet in B Minor, Op. 40: IV. Finale, Allegretto6:571998 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 1:05:24
1String Quartet, op. 4 no. 1 in B-flat major: Allegro con brio6:022String Quartet, op. 4 no. 1 in B-flat major: Andante sostenuto5:063String Quartet, op. 4 no. 1 in B-flat major: Menuetto e Trio3:374String Quartet, op. 4 no. 1 in B-flat major: Finale. Allegro4:075String Quartet, op. 10 no. 1 in G major: Allegro spirituoso6:236String Quartet, op. 10 no. 1 in G major: Adagio6:487String Quartet, op. 10 no. 1 in G major: Minuetto2:598String Quartet, op. 10 no. 1 in G major: Finale. Allegro ma non troppo lento3:339String Quartet, op. 46 no.3 in G minor: Allegro non troppo vivo7:3110String Quartet, op. 46 no.3 in G minor: Adagio religioso9:2011String Quartet, op. 46 no.3 in G minor: Menuetto. Allegretto4:4412String Quartet, op. 46 no.3 in G minor: Finale. Presto5:14Grand Quintetto, op. 76 / Grand Sextuor, op. 77
2001 · studio album
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Tracklist · 8 tracks · 1:02:16
1Grand Quintetto pour piano, violon, alto, violoncelle et contrebasse, op. 76: I. Introduzione: Largo - allegro12:312Grand Quintetto pour piano, violon, alto, violoncelle et contrebasse, op. 76: II. Scherzo: Allegro vivace4:383Grand Quintetto pour piano, violon, alto, violoncelle et contrebasse, op. 76: III. Romanze: Andantino molto cantabile7:134Grand Quintetto pour piano, violon, alto, violoncelle et contrebasse, op. 76: IV. Finale: "Le coup de vent" allegro animato7:325Grand Sextuor pour piano, flute, clarinette, basson, cor et contrebasse, op. 77bis: I. Allegro spirituoso7:126Grand Sextuor pour piano, flute, clarinette, basson, cor et contrebasse, op. 77bis: II. Minuetto: Agitato5:287Grand Sextuor pour piano, flute, clarinette, basson, cor et contrebasse, op. 77bis: III. Tema con variazioni: Andante con moto10:078Grand Sextuor pour piano, flute, clarinette, basson, cor et contrebasse, op. 77bis: IV. Finale: Allegretto quasi allegro7:352002 · studio album
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Tracklist · 8 tracks · 1:05:31
1Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 42: I. Allegro vivace ed energico10:542Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 42: II. Andante grazioso con moto6:133Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 42: III. Menuetto. Allegro6:114Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 42: IV. Finale. Presto agitato9:355Symphony No. 4 in G Major, Op. 71: I. Introduzione. Largo - Allegro spirituoso13:126Symphony No. 4 in G Major, Op. 71: II. Scherzo. Presto4:287Symphony No. 4 in G Major, Op. 71: III. Andantino molto cantabile7:548Symphony No. 4 in G Major, Op. 71: IV. Le coup de vent (Souvenir du Rhin). Allegro animato7:042002 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 1:12:26
1String Quartet no. 4 in C minor, op. 8 no. 1: I. Largo – Allegro agitato7:392String Quartet no. 4 in C minor, op. 8 no. 1: II. Adagio5:573String Quartet no. 4 in C minor, op. 8 no. 1: III. Menuetto. Allegretto2:464String Quartet no. 4 in C minor, op. 8 no. 1: IV. Finale. Presto3:405String Quartet no. 25 in B-flat major, op. 50: I. Allegro moderato9:186String Quartet no. 25 in B-flat major, op. 50: II. Scherzo. Vivace assai4:197String Quartet no. 25 in B-flat major, op. 50: III. Andante grazioso7:098String Quartet no. 25 in B-flat major, op. 50: IV. Finale. Allegro vivace5:139String Quartet no. 20 in F major, op. 40 no. 2: I. Allegro8:0910String Quartet no. 20 in F major, op. 40 no. 2: II. Andante. Sostenuto semplice8:2911String Quartet no. 20 in F major, op. 40 no. 2: III. Menuetto. Vivace3:5912String Quartet no. 20 in F major, op. 40 no. 2: IV. Allegro vivace e scherzo5:48Pièces pour violoncelle et piano
2003 · studio album
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Tracklist · 9 tracks · 54:55
1Sonate pour violoncelle et piano, op. 16 no. 2: I. Allegro espressivo9:292Sonate pour violoncelle et piano, op. 16 no. 2: II. Menuetto: Allegro5:383Sonate pour violoncelle et piano, op. 16 no. 2: III. Adagio cantabile6:444Sonate pour violoncelle et piano, op. 16 no. 2: IV. Finale: Allegretto5:005Nocturne pour violoncelle et piano no. 3: I. Andante4:306Nocturne pour violoncelle et piano no. 3: II. Agitato4:107Sonate pour violoncelle et piano, op. 16 no. 3: I. Allegro vivace8:268Sonate pour violoncelle et piano, op. 16 no. 3: II. Adagio2:519Sonate pour violoncelle et piano, op. 16 no. 3: III. Finale: Agitato - Molto espressivo8:072004 · studio album
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Tracklist · 8 tracks · 1:04:15
1Symphony No. 1 in A Major, Op. 41: I. Introduzione. Largo - Allegro spiritoso12:362Symphony No. 1 in A Major, Op. 41: II. Adagio espressivo8:093Symphony No. 1 in A Major, Op. 41: III. Minuetto. Vivace5:484Symphony No. 1 in A Major, Op. 41: IV. Finale. Vivace8:005Symphony No. 3 in F Minor: I. Largo - Allegro espressivo10:086Symphony No. 3 in F Minor: II. Allegro impetuoso5:237Symphony No. 3 in F Minor: III. Andante soave8:548Symphony No. 3 in F Minor: IV. Finale. Allegro agitato5:17Nonet, op. 77 / Quintet, op. 44
2006 · studio album
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Tracklist · 8 tracks · 1:05:40
1Nonet, op. 77 in A minor: I. Allegro spirituoso9:222Nonet, op. 77 in A minor: II. Scherzo. Agitato4:393Nonet, op. 77 in A minor: III. Tema con variazioni11:454Nonet, op. 77 in A minor: IV. Finale. Largo - Allegretto, quasi allegro7:415Quintet no. 19, op. 44 in C minor: I. Introduzione. Largo - Allegro spirituoso10:526Quintet no. 19, op. 44 in C minor: II. Menuetto. Allegro impetuoso5:187Quintet no. 19, op. 44 in C minor: III. Andante con moto quasi allegretto7:208Quintet no. 19, op. 44 in C minor: IV. Finale. Vivace ed agitato8:432007 · studio album
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Tracklist · 8 tracks · 1:03:01
1Duo pour piano et violon, op. 29 : I. Allegro gracioso11:282Duo pour piano et violon, op. 29 : II. Minuetto4:423Duo pour piano et violon, op. 29 : III. Andantino4:534Duo pour piano et violon, op. 29 : IV. Finale: Allegro6:075Duo pour piano et violon, op. 31 : I. Introduzione: Largo – Allegro moderato11:536Duo pour piano et violon, op. 31 : II. Andantino grazioso7:327Duo pour piano et violon, op. 31 : III. Menuetto6:238Duo pour piano et violon, op. 31 : IV. Finale: Allegretto espressivo10:03Piano Quintet, op. 79bis / Piano Sextet, op. 30
2007 · studio album
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Tracklist · 8 tracks · 1:13:00
1Sextet, op. 30: I. Introduzione. Largo - Allegro vivace13:062Sextet, op. 30: II. Minuetto. Allegro5:123Sextet, op. 30: III. Andante con variazioni10:144Sextet, op. 30: IV. Finale. Allegro7:055Quintet, op. 79bis: I. Allegro moderato13:536Quintet, op. 79bis: II. Scherzo. Vivace6:467Quintet, op. 79bis: III. Andante. Molto cantabile e grazioso7:538Quintet, op. 79bis: IV. Finale. Allegretto8:512007 · studio album
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Tracklist · 8 tracks · 55:40
1Piano Trio, op. 14 no. 2: I. Allegro10:442Piano Trio, op. 14 no. 2: II. Minuetto4:063Piano Trio, op. 14 no. 2: III. Andante con variazioni8:174Piano Trio, op. 14 no. 2: IV. Finale5:275Piano Trio, op. 27: I. Allegro grazioso7:466Piano Trio, op. 27: II. Andante cantabile6:437Piano Trio, op. 27: III. Minuetto5:478Piano Trio, op. 27: IV. Finale6:502008 · studio album
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Tracklist · 10 tracks · 1:15:19
1Sonata 1 in F, op. 16: I. Allegro8:242Sonata 1 in F, op. 16: II. Andante6:553Sonata 1 in F, op. 16: III. Finale. Allegretto6:194Sonata 2 in c, op. 16: I. Allegro espressivo14:485Sonata 2 in c, op. 16: II. Menuetto allegro5:376Sonata 2 in c, op. 16: III. Adagio cantabile6:497Sonata 2 in c, op. 16: IV. Finale. Allegretto5:568Sonata 3 in A, op. 16: I. Allegro vivace8:079Sonata 3 in A, op. 16: II. Adagio3:1610Sonata 3 in A, op. 16: III. Finale. Agitato e molto espressivo9:082008 · studio album
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Tracklist · 8 tracks · 57:48
1Piano Trio, op. 83: I. Allegro patetico12:232Piano Trio, op. 83: II. Adagio grandioso9:103Piano Trio, op. 83: III. Scherzo3:594Piano Trio, op. 83: IV. Finale5:565Piano Trio, op. 3 no. 2: I. Allegro moderato9:116Piano Trio, op. 3 no. 2: II. Andante non troppo lento6:337Piano Trio, op. 3 no. 2: III. Minuetto5:508Piano Trio, op. 3 no. 2: IV. Finale4:462009 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 1:17:41
1Quatuor à cordes en mi bémol majeur : I. Introduzione. Adagio - Allegro moderato7:132Quatuor à cordes en mi bémol majeur : II. "Preghiera". Adagio - Allegro moderato10:183Quatuor à cordes en mi bémol majeur : III. Scherzo. Allegro3:014Quatuor à cordes en mi bémol majeur : IV. Finale. Allegro non troppo4:365Quatuor à cordes en ré mineur : I. Adagio - Allegro moderato7:276Quatuor à cordes en ré mineur : II. Scherzo. Presto5:317Quatuor à cordes en ré mineur : III. Adagio Cantabile8:448Quatuor à cordes en ré mineur : IV. Finale. Allegro vivace5:289Quatuor à cordes en ut mineur : I. Allegro maestoso ed espressivo7:5910Quatuor à cordes en ut mineur : II. Minuetto. Moderato4:1411Quatuor à cordes en ut mineur : III. Adagio cantabile e sostenuto6:1012Quatuor à cordes en ut mineur : IV. Finale. Vivace7:00La musique de chambre avec vents (complete chamber music for wind instruments)
2011 · studio album
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Tracklist · 16 tracks · 2:14:00
Disc 11Sextet No. 1 in E-Flat Major, Op. 30: I. Allegro vivace assai12:362Sextet No. 1 in E-Flat Major, Op. 30: II. Menuetto: Allegro5:153Sextet No. 1 in E-Flat Major, Op. 30: III. Andante con variazioni10:344Sextet No. 1 in E-Flat Major, Op. 30: IV. Finale: Allegro6:505Septet in B-Flat Major, Op. 79: I. Allegro moderato14:046Septet in B-Flat Major, Op. 79: II. Scherzo: Vivace7:167Septet in B-Flat Major, Op. 79: III. Andante: Molto cantabile e grazioso9:208Septet in B-Flat Major, Op. 79: IV. Finale: Allegretto8:53Disc 21Nonet in A Major, Op. 77: I. Allegro spirituoso9:512Nonet in A Major, Op. 77: II. Scherzo - Agitato5:033Nonet in A Major, Op. 77: III. Tema con variazioni12:344Nonet in A Major, Op. 77: IV. Finale: Largo - Allegretto quasi allegro8:205Wind Quintet in F Major, Op. 81: I. Allegro non troppo7:496Wind Quintet in F Major, Op. 81: II. Scherzo: Energico3:517Wind Quintet in F Major, Op. 81: III. Andante sostenuto6:498Wind Quintet in F Major, Op. 81: IV. Finale: Allegro spirituso4:552011 · studio album
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Tracklist · 24 tracks · 2:29:34
Disc 11Piano Trio, op. 20: I. Allegro energico8:372Piano Trio, op. 20: II. Thema con variazioni10:223Piano Trio, op. 20: III. Menuetto2:344Piano Trio, op. 20: IV. Finale7:095Piano Trio, op. 3 no. 1: I. Introduzione3:236Piano Trio, op. 3 no. 1: II. Allegro6:407Piano Trio, op. 3 no. 1: III. Minuetto6:238Piano Trio, op. 3 no. 1: IV. Finale7:159Piano Trio, op. 14 no. 1: I. Allegro espressivo6:4310Piano Trio, op. 14 no. 1: II. Andante grazioso5:2611Piano Trio, op. 14 no. 1: III. Minuetto2:3312Piano Trio, op. 14 no. 1: IV. Finale7:11Disc 21Piano Trio, op. 26: I. Allegro espressivo11:012Piano Trio, op. 26: II. Adagio8:153Piano Trio, op. 26: III. Minuetto5:264Piano Trio, op. 26: IV. Finale5:595Piano Trio, op. 14 no. 3: I. Allegro vivace assai4:066Piano Trio, op. 14 no. 3: II. Andante non troppo lento5:217Piano Trio, op. 14 no. 3: III. Minuetto5:108Piano Trio, op. 14 no. 3: IV. Finale5:079Piano Trio, op. 3 no. 3: I. Vivace6:4310Piano Trio, op. 3 no. 3: II. Andante cantabile6:4811Piano Trio, op. 3 no. 3: III. Minuetto5:1112Piano Trio, op. 3 no. 3: IV. Finale6:112012 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 1:09:50
1Quatuor, op. 10 n° 2 en ré mineur: I. Allegro maestoso ed espressivo6:592Quatuor, op. 10 n° 2 en ré mineur: II. Menuetto. Allegro (Air de Danse des Montagnes d’Auvergne)3:363Quatuor, op. 10 n° 2 en ré mineur: III. Andante con variazioni8:384Quatuor, op. 10 n° 2 en ré mineur: IV. Finale. Allegretto4:565Quatuor, op. 9 n° 3 en fa mineur: I. Moderato9:256Quatuor, op. 9 n° 3 en fa mineur: II. Menuetto. Allegro3:037Quatuor, op. 9 n° 3 en fa mineur: III. Andante quasi allegretto5:518Quatuor, op. 9 n° 3 en fa mineur: IV. Allegro agitato5:049Quatuor, op. 21 n° 3 en mi bémol majeur: I. Allegro maestoso6:3810Quatuor, op. 21 n° 3 en mi bémol majeur: II. Menuetto. Allegro2:4611Quatuor, op. 21 n° 3 en mi bémol majeur: III. Larghetto (con sordini)7:5412Quatuor, op. 21 n° 3 en mi bémol majeur: IV. Finale. Allegro scherzo, quasi Allegretto5:002013 · studio album
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Tracklist · 9 tracks · 1:06:17
1Sonata No.1 In F, Op. 16: 1. Allegro8:252Sonata No.1 In F, Op. 16: 2. Andante6:563Sonata No.1 In F, Op. 16: 3. Finale, Allegretto6:194Sonata No.2 In C, Op. 16: 1. Allegro Espressivo14:495Sonata No.2 In C, Op. 16: 2. Menuetto Allegro5:376Sonata No.2 In C, Op. 16: 3. Andadgio Cantabile6:507Sonata No.2 In C, Op. 16: 3. Finale, Allegretto5:578Sonata No.3 In A, Op. 16: 1. Allegro Vivace8:079Sonata No.3 In A, Op. 16: 2. Adagio3:172013 · studio album
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Tracklist · 10 tracks · 1:10:59
1Sonata in F major, op. 16, no. 1: I. Allegro7:592Sonata in F major, op. 16, no. 1: II. Andante8:383Sonata in F major, op. 16, no. 1: III. Allegretto5:414Sonata in C minor, op. 16, no. 2: I. Allegro espressivo12:245Sonata in C minor, op. 16, no. 2: II. Menuetto: Allegro6:366Sonata in C minor, op. 16, no. 2: III. Adagio cantabile6:317Sonata in C minor, op. 16, no. 2: IV. Finale: Allegretto5:508Sonata in A major, op. 16, no. 3: I. Allegro vivace8:029Sonata in A major, op. 16, no. 3: II. Adagio -2:4010Sonata in A major, op. 16, no. 3: III. Finale: Agitato e molto espressivo6:38Sonates pour violoncelle et piano, opus 16
2014 · studio album
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Tracklist · 10 tracks · 1:02:47
1Sonate pour violoncello et piano, opus 16 nº2: Allegro espressivo9:162Sonate pour violoncello et piano, opus 16 nº2: Minuetto: Allegro5:343Sonate pour violoncello et piano, opus 16 nº2: Adagio cantabile5:274Sonate pour violoncello et piano, opus 16 nº2: Finale: Allegretto5:245Sonate pour violoncello et piano, opus 16 nº1: Allegro8:166Sonate pour violoncello et piano, opus 16 nº1: Andante6:297Sonate pour violoncello et piano, opus 16 nº1: Allegretto6:028Sonate pour violoncello et piano, opus 16 nº3: Allegro vivace5:479Sonate pour violoncello et piano, opus 16 nº3: Adagio2:5910Sonate pour violoncello et piano, opus 16 nº3: Finale: Agitato e molto espressivo7:332015 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 1:02:20
1Quatuor No. 1 en Ut Mineur, Op. 8 No. 3: I. Largo - Allegro agitato7:522Quatuor No. 1 en Ut Mineur, Op. 8 No. 3: II. Adagio5:563Quatuor No. 1 en Ut Mineur, Op. 8 No. 3: III. Minuetto (Allegretto)2:304Quatuor No. 1 en Ut Mineur, Op. 8 No. 3: IV. Finale (Presto)3:465Quatuor No. 3 en Mi Bémol Majeur, Op. 10 No. 1: I. Largo - Allegro con brio5:526Quatuor No. 3 en Mi Bémol Majeur, Op. 10 No. 1: II. Andantino sostenuto7:157Quatuor No. 3 en Mi Bémol Majeur, Op. 10 No. 1: III. Minuetto: Allegro (Air de danse des montagnes d'Auvergne)3:168Quatuor No. 3 en Mi Bémol Majeur, Op. 10 No. 1: IV. Allegro vivace5:389Quatuor No. 3 en La Majeur, Op. 8 No. 3: I. Allegro8:0610Quatuor No. 3 en La Majeur, Op. 8 No. 3: II. Andante non troppo lento3:5611Quatuor No. 3 en La Majeur, Op. 8 No. 3: III. Minuetto (Allegro)3:3012Quatuor No. 3 en La Majeur, Op. 8 No. 3: IV. Finale (Vivace)4:43String Quintets 1: Nos. 20 And 26
2016 · studio album
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Tracklist · 8 tracks · 1:05:03
1String Quintet No. 20 in D Minor, Op. 45: I. Allegro grandioso11:252String Quintet No. 20 in D Minor, Op. 45: II. Menuetto4:253String Quintet No. 20 in D Minor, Op. 45: III. Andante cantabile8:224String Quintet No. 20 in D Minor, Op. 45: IV. Finale. Allegro innocente7:135String Quintet No. 26 in C Minor, Op. 67: I. Introduzione. Molto moderato e grandioso13:156String Quintet No. 26 in C Minor, Op. 67: II. Scherzo4:597String Quintet No. 26 in C Minor, Op. 67: III. Andante7:328String Quintet No. 26 in C Minor, Op. 67: IV. Finale. Allegretto quasi allegro7:52String Quintets 2: Nos. 10 and 22
2017 · studio album
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Tracklist · 8 tracks · 1:05:22
1String Quintet no. 10 in F minor, op. 32: I. Largo - Allegro8:532String Quintet no. 10 in F minor, op. 32: II. Andante7:543String Quintet no. 10 in F minor, op. 32: III. Menuetto: Allegro impetuoso5:324String Quintet no. 10 in F minor, op. 32: IV. Allegro agitato7:165String Quintet no. 22 in E-flat major, op. 57: I. Allegro non tanto vivace11:286String Quintet no. 22 in E-flat major, op. 57: II. Adagio8:337String Quintet no. 22 in E-flat major, op. 57: III. Scherzo5:408String Quintet no. 22 in E-flat major, op. 57: IV. Allegretto grazioso10:062018 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 1:16:01
1Viola Sonata in F major, op. 16 no. 1: I. Allegro8:532Viola Sonata in F major, op. 16 no. 1: II. Andante9:023Viola Sonata in F major, op. 16 no. 1: III. Allegretto5:534Viola Sonata in C minor: I. Adagio – Allegro7:055Viola Sonata in C minor: II. Menuetto – Allegro molto6:196Viola Sonata in C minor: III. Andante con variazioni14:477Six Nocturnes, op. 186: I. Larghetto4:178Six Nocturnes, op. 186: II. Allegretto, ma un poco vivo3:079Six Nocturnes, op. 186: III. Poco adagio4:0010Six Nocturnes, op. 186: IV. Allegretto, ma un poco vivo3:3111Six Nocturnes, op. 186: V. Adagio con molta espressione5:0712Six Nocturnes, op. 186: VI. Allegro moderato4:00String Quintets 3: Nos. 28 and 29
2018 · studio album
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Tracklist · 8 tracks · 1:00:45
1String Quintet No. 28 in G Minor, Op. 72 (Version for String Quartet & Double Bass): I. Adagio non troppo - Allegro moderato9:382String Quintet No. 28 in G Minor, Op. 72 (Version for String Quartet & Double Bass): II. Adagio, molto cantabile9:123String Quintet No. 28 in G Minor, Op. 72 (Version for String Quartet & Double Bass): III. Menuet4:164String Quintet No. 28 in G Minor, Op. 72 (Version for String Quartet & Double Bass): IV. Finale9:095String Quintet No. 29 in E-Flat Major, Op. 73 (Version for String Quartet & Double Bass): I. Allegro moderato10:066String Quintet No. 29 in E-Flat Major, Op. 73 (Version for String Quartet & Double Bass): II. Larghetto doloroso6:307String Quintet No. 29 in E-Flat Major, Op. 73 (Version for String Quartet & Double Bass): III. Scherzo4:588String Quintet No. 29 in E-Flat Major, Op. 73 (Version for String Quartet & Double Bass): IV. Finale. Vivace6:562019 · studio album
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Tracklist · 8 tracks · 59:14
1String Quintet in E minor, op. 74: Allegro grandioso11:052String Quintet in E minor, op. 74: Menuetto. Moderato molto5:183String Quintet in E minor, op. 74: Andantino grazioso4:574String Quintet in E minor, op. 74: Finale. Allegro molto animato6:145String Quintet in B-flat major, op. 33: Allegro con brio8:406String Quintet in B-flat major, op. 33: Andante mestoso8:297String Quintet in B-flat major, op. 33: Minuetto. Non troppo presto6:198String Quintet in B-flat major, op. 33: Finale. Allegretto grazioso8:12String Quintets 4: Nos. 23 And 31
2021 · studio album
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Tracklist · 8 tracks · 59:20
1String Quintet No. 31 in A Major, Op. 75 (Version for String Quartet & Double Bass): I. Allegro grazioso9:332String Quintet No. 31 in A Major, Op. 75 (Version for String Quartet & Double Bass): II. Scherzo. Allegro3:303String Quintet No. 31 in A Major, Op. 75 (Version for String Quartet & Double Bass): III. Andante sostenuto6:564String Quintet No. 31 in A Major, Op. 75 (Version for String Quartet & Double Bass): IV. Finale. Allegretto7:405String Quintet No. 23 in A Minor, Op. 58 (Version for String Quartet & Double Bass): I. Allegro non tanto vivo10:056String Quintet No. 23 in A Minor, Op. 58 (Version for String Quartet & Double Bass): II. Adagio sostenuto7:237String Quintet No. 23 in A Minor, Op. 58 (Version for String Quartet & Double Bass): III. Menuetto. Allegro impetuoso4:558String Quintet No. 23 in A Minor, Op. 58 (Version for String Quartet & Double Bass): IV. Finale. Allegro non tanto vivace9:18String Quintets • 5: Nos. 14 and 24
2026 · studio album
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Tracklist · 8 tracks · 1:03:09
1String Quintet no. 14 in F major, op. 37: I. Allegro moderato10:402String Quintet no. 14 in F major, op. 37: II. Menuetto. Allegretto4:523String Quintet no. 14 in F major, op. 37: III. Andante cantabile7:224String Quintet no. 14 in F major, op. 37: IV. Finale. Allegretto6:515String Quintet no. 24 in D major, op. 59: I. Allegro molto moderato12:046String Quintet no. 24 in D major, op. 59: II. Fantasia. Adagio patetico -6:057String Quintet no. 24 in D major, op. 59: III. Allegretto grazioso con moto6:268String Quintet no. 24 in D major, op. 59: IV. Finale. Allegro vivace assai8:49Sonatas in E minor, op. 7 and F minor, op. 22
— · studio album
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Tracklist · 6 tracks · 58:19
1Sonata for Piano 4 Hands no. 1 in E minor, op. 7: I. Allegro espressivo9:512Sonata for Piano 4 Hands no. 1 in E minor, op. 7: II. Romanza8:383Sonata for Piano 4 Hands no. 1 in E minor, op. 7: III. Finale: Agitato7:524Sonata for Piano 4 Hands no. 2 in F minor, op. 22: I. Allegro moderato e patetico9:125Sonata for Piano 4 Hands no. 2 in F minor, op. 22: II. Minuetto: Moderato11:406Sonata for Piano 4 Hands no. 2 in F minor, op. 22: III. Largo - Finale: Allegro espressivo11:06
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put George Onslow head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 20 | 81.1th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 30 | 90.4th |
| Studio albums | 30 | 98.2th |
| Awards recorded | 1 | 89th |
| Timeline events | 32 | 97.1th |
| Recording span (years) | -140 | 4.3th |
| Genres | 7 | 93th |
Awards & honours
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | Knight of the Legion of Honour | won |
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:George_Onslow.jpgaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/d862c725-08b8-45bd-881b-3e6a9f295366discography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/d862c725-08b8-45bd-881b-3e6a9f295366core—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q380935genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q380935seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Onslow_%28composer%29biography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Onslow_%28composer%29
Why this artist is in the database
- List of composers by name
Tier rule: curated genre/region list
Image: Pierre-Roch Vigneron · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q380935 · MusicBrainz: d862c725-08b8-45bd-881b-3e6a9f295366
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