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This release from RTÉ lyric fm rediscovers a fascinating array of unknown repertoire from the neglected Limerick-born composer, George Alexander Osborne. The result is a definitive collection of delightful piano works and chamber music, given superb renditions by Una Hunt piano, Justin Pearson cello, and Triantán Piano Trio.
The disc opens with Osborne’s seductive Shower of Pearls, a favourite number of its time and one that earned him a lot of money. This is followed by the dramatic and dreamy Ireland, a fantasia on the popular airs The Last Rose of Summer and The Girl I Left Behind Me. Other Victorian piano favourites are joined by the seductive Cello Sonata and the quirky and bewitching Piano Trio.
Born in Limerick in 1806, Osborne was the son of the cathedral and city organist. During a visit to Brussels in 1824 he decided to make music his career and subsequently went to Paris where he was a friend of Chopin, Berlioz and Liszt, among others. He moved to London during the 1840s, where he lived for the remainder of his life. Osborne lived a long and full life and remained active up until shortly before his death in 1893
SHOWER OF PEARLS is the first time George Alexander Osborne’s music has been recorded and makes for delightful easy listening and an historic recording to add to any collection.
Track listing:
1. La Pluie de Perles (The Shower of Pearls), Valse brilliante Op. 61
2. Ireland (Fantasia on favourite Irish Airs)
Sonata for Piano and Cello in B flat major
3. I. Allegro moderato
4. II. Andante
5. III. Allegro
6. Isabella Valse Op 34
7. Evening Dew: Morceau de Salon Op. 90
8. Fantasia on Balofe’s opera “The Rose of Castille “
Piano Trio no. 3 in G.
9. I. Allegro moderato
10. II. Scharzo
11. III. Adagio: cantibile
12. IV. Finale:allegro
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