Thesis submission ID 101 | created
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Una Hunt, George Alexander Osborne, a Nineteenth-Century Irish Pianist-Composer
Volumes, pp.: 2
Supervisor(s): Dr Barra Boydell
Repository (hard copy): NUI Maynooth Library
General specialism: Musicology
Historical timeframe: 1806-1893
Key terms, concepts: Biographical details. Osborne's pianistic career. The Paris concerts, 1826-c1844. Concerts of the London years, 1844 onwards. The rise of the piano virtuoso in the nineteenth century. Contemporary reception of Osborne's music. Osborne's conducting career and directorships. The rise of the sheet music industry. Changing fashions in music presentation. Survey of Osborne's music. Edition of Osborne's Third Piano Trio.
Key terms, persons: George Alexander Osborne (1806-1893)
Key terms, places: Limerick, Paris, London
Key terms, institutions: Royal Academy of Music, London; The (Royal) Philharmonic Society, London
Key terms, genres, instruments: Piano
Abstract:
This thesis was the first to acknowledge and provide a detailed study of the contribution made by one of Ireland's foremost pianists, who enjoyed a considerable international reputation. Arguably the leading Irish pianist-composer of the nineteenth century, George Alexander Osborne was born in Limerick in 1806 and went to Europe as a young man, where he formed friendships with many of the great musical figures, particularly Berlioz and Chopin. He performed with legendary instrumentalists including Chopin, Liszt, Ernst and Piatti, and singers such as the celebrated Maria Malibran and the Limerick soprano, Catherine Hayes. Osborne's prominence as a virtuoso is discussed through an analysis of his compositional style, largely formed in Paris and typical of many virtuosi of the period.
Despite his extensive output, and some enduring Victorian favourites such as La Pluie de Perles (Shower of Pearls), Osborne's music and his name are now largely forgotten.
The thesis examines this issue through an appraisal of the circumstances prevalent in Osborne's time and gives a social context to his virtuoso repertoire and his salon music. Thus his legacy can be viewed as an illustration of domestic music making as well as a reminiscence of the golden age of the pianist-composer.
Una Hunt, George Alexander Osborne, a Nineteenth-Century Irish Pianist-Composer
PhD, NUI Maynooth, 2006
Volumes, pp.: 2
Supervisor(s): Dr Barra Boydell
Repository (hard copy): NUI Maynooth Library
General specialism: Musicology
Historical timeframe: 1806-1893
Key terms, concepts: Biographical details. Osborne's pianistic career. The Paris concerts, 1826-c1844. Concerts of the London years, 1844 onwards. The rise of the piano virtuoso in the nineteenth century. Contemporary reception of Osborne's music. Osborne's conducting career and directorships. The rise of the sheet music industry. Changing fashions in music presentation. Survey of Osborne's music. Edition of Osborne's Third Piano Trio.
Key terms, persons: George Alexander Osborne (1806-1893)
Key terms, places: Limerick, Paris, London
Key terms, institutions: Royal Academy of Music, London; The (Royal) Philharmonic Society, London
Key terms, genres, instruments: Piano
Abstract:
This thesis was the first to acknowledge and provide a detailed study of the contribution made by one of Ireland's foremost pianists, who enjoyed a considerable international reputation. Arguably the leading Irish pianist-composer of the nineteenth century, George Alexander Osborne was born in Limerick in 1806 and went to Europe as a young man, where he formed friendships with many of the great musical figures, particularly Berlioz and Chopin. He performed with legendary instrumentalists including Chopin, Liszt, Ernst and Piatti, and singers such as the celebrated Maria Malibran and the Limerick soprano, Catherine Hayes. Osborne's prominence as a virtuoso is discussed through an analysis of his compositional style, largely formed in Paris and typical of many virtuosi of the period.
Despite his extensive output, and some enduring Victorian favourites such as La Pluie de Perles (Shower of Pearls), Osborne's music and his name are now largely forgotten.
The thesis examines this issue through an appraisal of the circumstances prevalent in Osborne's time and gives a social context to his virtuoso repertoire and his salon music. Thus his legacy can be viewed as an illustration of domestic music making as well as a reminiscence of the golden age of the pianist-composer.
Thesis submission ID 101