[Op. 69]. 36me. Quatuor pour deux Violons Alto et Violoncelle dédié à Mons. Hubert Léonard... Oeuv. 69. Pr. 1 Thlr. 25 Ngr. [Parts]

Leipsic: Fr. Kistner [PN 1459], 1846. Folio. Light green wrappers with manuscript titling in German in ink to upper. Violino primo: [1] (title within decorative border by Krätzschmer), 2-13, [i] (blank) pp.; Violino secondo: 9, [i] (blank) pp.; Alto: 11, [i] (blank) pp.; Violoncello: 8 pp. Title lithographed; music engraved.

Oval handstamp of Ludwig Doblinger (Bernhard Herzmansky), Vienna, to foot of all upper wrappers, with early owner's signature, "Josef [?]Freitner," in ink to upper right corners; wrappers of Violino primo part frayed at head of spine. Slightly foxed; occasional fingering and other performance-related annotations in pencil; (truncated) mathematical scribblings in pencil to p. 2 of Violino primo part. An early edition, published within months of the first. WorldCat (2 copies in the U.S., at the Eastman School of Music and Queens College).

"[A] French composer of English descent... Onslow’s string quartets and quintets are the pinnacle of his output. His youthful quartets (opp.4, 8, 9, and 10) are notable for great flexibility of writing, exceptional rhythmic and melodic charm, and great vitality... In 1832 he returned to the form with new and sudden vigour probably as a result of his discovery of Beethoven’s late quartets. Both shocked and fascinated by these, he composed the 12 most important of all his quartets (opp.46 to 56) over a period of two years. Of greater density, and with even greater interplay between the voices, these works show great emotional intensity, opening up the way to new harmonic and rhythmic daring, and contain movements of striking beauty. Onslow’s work was particularly successful in Germany and Austria throughout the first half of the 19th century, as the many editions of his works show." Viviane Niaux in Grove Music Online. (Inventory #: 25817)