Ma'alot Quintet - Onslow: Quintet Op. 81, Sextet Op. 30 (2018)

Known during his lifetime as the 'French Beethoven', on this SACD Markus Becker teams up with the Ma'alot Quintet for a closer look at Onslow's virtuoso side. Functioning as virtuoso concertos for the salon, both the Wind Quintet op. 81 and the Sextet op. 30 fully satisfied the discriminating taste of Parisian high society. George Onslow was five years old when the French Revolution began and completely disrupted the life of his noble family with British roots. The young Onslow spent the next two decades travelling throughout Europe, received instruction from Dussek in Hamburg, Cramer in London, and finally from the famous Antonín Reicha in Paris after his return to France. This rich and varied experience is reflected in Onslow's extremely individual personal style making him, next to Berlioz, certainly the most important French composer of his times.