ONSLOW, George (1784-1853) - Ouverture 'Le Colporteur' (1827)

George Onslow (1784-1853) - Ouverture 'Le Colporteur, ou L’enfant du bûcheron' (1827)

Performers: Le Cercle de l'Harmonie; Jérémie Rhorer (conductor)

Painting: Unknown (19th Century) - The Magnificent Coronation of Emperor Alexander II

and Empress Maria Aleksandrovna (1856)

Further info: George Onslow (1784-1853) - Symphony No.3 (1834)

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(André) George (Louis) Onslow

(Clermont-Ferrand, 27 July 1784 - Clermont-Ferrand, 3 October 1853)

French composer of English descent. He was the grandson of the first Lord Onslow. He studied in London with Nicolas-Joseph Hüllmandel, Jan Ladislav Dussek, and Johann Baptist Cramer and in Paris with Anton Reicha. A gifted amateur, he wrote his first works before 1807. He married Delphine de Fontanges in July 1808. He based himself near Clermont-Ferrand, initially at his father's Château de Chalendrat at Mirefleurs, later at Château de Bellerives at Perignat, La Roche-Noire. He typically visited Paris during the 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. From 1824 to 1837 he wrote his three comic operas, L'Alcalde de la Vega (1824), Le colporteur, ou L'enfant du bucheron (1827), and Guise, ou Les etats de Blois (1837) but they never achieved the success he was expecting for. However, he was highly praised by his chamber music in which he demonstrated an uncommon mastery of counterpoint. During the summer of 1829 he had a near-fatal accident when out hunting. While convalescing, he composed the last three movements of a quintet he had begun before the accident. This quintet, op.38, known as ‘De la balle’, remained the composer's mascot. In 1830 he became the second honorary member of the London Philharmonic Society. In 1834 he was elected president of the Athénée Musical. He succeeded Cherubini at the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1842, and his career became established in these years. In 1852 he was affected by rheumatic pains and failing sight in the left eye, and gave up composing for ever. Despite he was mainly active in France, his work was particularly successful in Germany and Austria throughout the first half of the 19th century, as the many editions of his works show. Kistner and Breitkopf & Härtel, in particular, competed for the privilege of publishing Onslow in the German-speaking countries.