Fantastic features of the Quatuor Diotima in the international press!

The Quatuor Diotima has received excellent reviews from the British and American press in the last months. Below are two features from the UK's newspaper The Guardian and the American's newspaper The Dallas Morning News.

The Guardian ★★★★

Admired by Beethoven and Schubert, George Onslow (1784-1853) has become that rare phenomenon, a composer who was internationally popular in his own lifetime and for a considerable time afterwards, yet who virtually vanished in the next century. Despite his English name, Onslow was essentially French; born in the Auvergne to an English father and a French mother, he studied with Cramer and then Reicha in Paris, and later succeeded Cherubini as director of the Académie des Beaux-Arts. Onslow composed symphonies and operas, but it was his chamber music – put on a par with Mozart’s by Mendelssohn and Schumann – with which he made his reputation. Onslow composed more than 30 string quartets, and an equal number of quintets, so the Quatuor Diotima are only scratching the surface with this selection of three from 1834. They reveal a composer caught on the brink of Romanticism; some moments recall late Beethoven or Schubert, others anticipate Mendelssohn and Schumann, or look back to Haydn and Mozart. It’s a fascinating historical snapshot, beautifully rendered by the Diotima, who lavish immense care on every bar.

By Andrew Clements

You can also read the article on The Guardian website.


The Dallas Morning News

Born to a British father and a mother from the Auvergne region of France, George Onslow (1784-1853) was trained by some of the most esteemed teachers of the day: Jan Ladislav Dussek, Johann Baptist Cramer and Antoine Reicha. A skilled pianist who also knew his way around the cello, Onslow was especially prolific as a composer of chamber music – 34 string quintets and 35 string quartets.
Brought up in a solid classical tradition, Onslow reportedly was shocked by the bold new language of Beethoven's late string quartets. Then, in the early 1830s, he turned around and penned these three quartets very much in the vein of late Beethoven, albeit with a bit more sheer flamboyance. They need no apologies even next to Beethoven, and they get brilliant performances from this young French quartet.

By Scott Cantrell

You can also read the article on the Dallas News website.