Onslow op. 16

[azumbrunn]

There is an error in the title on this work page: the three sonatas are not for piano and violin, but for piano and violoncello (Viola), according to both the literature on Onslow and to the title page of the editions published on the page. The list of instruments ought to be corrected also.

[steltz]

I've checked everything with Grove, and moved things around accordingly, so it should be OK now. I've also added a comment about Grove's title for it (Duos, not Sonatas). This can only be confirmed if an autograph manuscript is found/uploaded, so for now it has been named 3 Cello Sonatas, op.16.

[azumbrunn]

The title issue is broader: the sonatas op. 29 and 31 for vln and pno are also called "Duos" in the Bärenreiter edition that is on IMSLP, possibly to emphasize the equal weight given to both instruments in these works. Nowadays we call works like this generally "sonata" (Beethoven's for example) and for us this implies equal weight, but not long before Onslow's time "sonata for piano accompanied by a violin etc." was a piece of house-music where a violinist could be employed but was not essential (look at early Mozart sonatas for examples). Looking at it this way I think there is nothing wrong with calling the Onslow duos "sonatas".

[steltz]

Duos is what Grove lists the title as, so I had put a comment on the workpage regarding this title. I would ordinarily just assume that Grove uses what is on the autograph manuscript, hence "Duos", but in the op.16 case, all three editions on IMSLP use the term Sonata. On the other hand the Bärenreiter edition doesn't say "Urtext" in this case.

Do you happen to know where the autograph manuscript might be? If I could look at a library entry for an autograph manuscript, that would solve the issue -- our policy is mostly to use what the composer originally used (with a couple of standardizations). Thanks.

[azumbrunn]

I talked to someone who knows much more about Onslow than I do (though not specifically about op. 16). He said the situation of Onslow sources is generally difficult. Many of the manuscripts are in private hands and hard to locate. My contact was interested in one of the quintets of which a recording existed. He got the address of the owner of the music from the ensemble on the CD and tried to contact the owner. But the old man was by now in a nursing home and his family couldn't care less about the collection and refused to help.