Johannes Goritzki, Radio-Philharmonie Hannover des NDR - George Onslow: Symphonies No.2 & 4 (2002)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 292 Mb | Total time: 65:41 | Scans included
Classical | Label: CPO | # 999 738-2 | Recorded: 1999
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 292 Mb | Total time: 65:41 | Scans included
Classical | Label: CPO | # 999 738-2 | Recorded: 1999
The symphonies of Georges Onslow (1784-1853), rather than following the path blazed by countryman Hector Berlioz, instead adopt the German romantic style epitomized by Schumann and Mendelssohn. For example, the high-spirited Symphony No. 2, a smart and finely crafted work continuously self-propelled by busy string writing, presents a very Schumannesque profile (explicitly so in the scherzo), while the orchestration, with its bucolic woodwind writing, owes much to Mendelssohn. Symphony No. 4 immediately announces its weightier countenance with a powerfully portentous introduction reminiscent of Schubert. Onslow enlivens both the first movement and finale with skillful pacing and an unerring sense of dramatic timing, but it's the spiritually elevated adagio–the emotional center of the work–that remains most in the memory.