Composers

George Alexander Osborne

Piano
Violin
Cello
Piano four hands
Flute
Oboe
French horn
Double bass
Viola
Duet
Variation
Nocturne
Paraphrase
Concertantes
Waltz
Dance
Piece
Fantasia
Sextet
by popularity
Ah che la morte et le célèbre Miserere de l'opéra 'Il trovatore'Brillant Variations on a favorite Waltz by Count Gallemberg, Op.13Duo brillant sur l'opéra de L. Clapisson 'La Figurante'Duo concertant sur un motif d' 'Anna Bolena', Op.41Grand duo brillant sur 'Le Pirate' de BelliniGrandes Variations sur un Air Montagnard, Op.18La belle nuit, Op.75Lluvia de perlas No.1, Op.61Lluvia de perlas No.2, Op.80Petite fantaisie sur un air russe favoriSérénade-nocturne, Op.89Sextet, Op.63
Wikipedia
George Alexander Osborne (24 September 1806 – 16 November 1893) was an Irish composer and pianist.
Osborne was born in Limerick. He left Ireland at the age of eighteen, when he left for Brussels, where he was appointed music instructor for the eldest son of the Dutch king, and became friends with Charles de Bériot. With de Bériot he was later to compose more than 30 duos for violin and piano, which enjoyed great popularity. In 1830 he fought for the royalists in the Belgian revolution, and after his capture and release he moved to Paris. Here he studied under Johann Peter Pixis, François-Joseph Fétis and Friedrich Kalkbrenner and became friendly with some of the leading musicians of his time including Berlioz and Chopin. In 1843, Osborne settled permanently in London, although he maintained a home in Paris until c.1848, when he encouraged a nervous Chopin during the latter's tour of England in 1848.). In London he held directorships of the Philharmonic Society, the Royal Academy of Music, and conducted the Amateur Musical Society (from 1852). Osborne died at his home in Regent's Park, London, at the age of 87.
Osborne's compositions were mostly on a small scale and included 83 original piano works, 178 transcriptions and fantasias for piano solo, 24 piano duos, 44 vocal works, 55 chamber music pieces; his unpublished works included two operas and some orchestral overtures, now lost. Berlioz observed that Osborne's songs and trios were ‘lofty in style and spacious in design’. One of Osborne's most popular compositions was a piano piece entitled La Pluie de perles (Shower of Pearls), which went through many editions. Some of his piano music was written to display his own virtuosity, while others were conceived as salon music for domestic entertainment.