Onslow: String Quartets / Quatour Diotima

Quatuor Diotima

Wholenote Discoveries - March 2011
Despite his English name, George Onslow (1784-1853) was a French composer. Although highly regarded in his time – he was known as the French Beethoven! – his music was until recently neglected and difficult to obtain. A recent CD from the French Diotima Quartet features three string quartets from 1828 that Onslow wrote while still trying to come to terms with the impact of Beethoven’s late quartets, which he found both fascinating and disconcerting. They marked a change from a pre-Romantic style to one of intense expressiveness, a quality captured perfectly in these dazzling and clearly empathetic performances. The booklet notes describe this music as “exciting, personal, and amazingly neglected” - a perfect description. Naxos has issued another two excellent CDs featuring Onslow’s seldom-played violin concertos. Terry Robbins

Price: $25.98