‘This is Beethoven with no safety net, thrillingly alive. The cover – Rodin’s Hand of God – seems the perfect fit for the music and the musicianship’ BBC Radio 3 Record Review, Disc of the Week
Steven Osborne’s musical insight and integrity underpin idiomatic interpretations of diverse repertoire that have won him fans around the world. The extent of his range is demonstrated by his 33 recordings for Hyperion, which have earned numerous awards, and he was made OBE for his services to music in the Queen’s New Year Honours in 2022. A thoughtful and curious musician, he is often invited to curate festivals, including at Antwerp’s DeSingel, Bath International Music Festival and Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, and has served as Artist-in-Residence at Wigmore Hall. The Observer described him as ‘a player in absolute service to the composer’ and his close reading of composers’ scores has led him to create his own edition of Rachmaninov. He has a lifelong interest in jazz and often improvises in concerts, bringing this spontaneity and freedom to all his interpretations. In 2023–24, Osborne returns to recent recording repertoire by Beethoven and Debussy, and has devised a special programme of miniatures, ranging from Bach through to jazz, which reflects his own musical journey. He opens the 23–24 season for the BBC Scottish Symphony, performing Ryan Wigglesworth’s Piano Concerto, and performs with the Czech Philharmonic/Bychkov, Israel Philharmonic/Petrenko, Dresden Philharmonic, Brussels Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony and Philharmonia/Rouvali. Osborne has performed in the world’s most prestigious venues, including the Wiener Konzerthaus, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Berlin Philharmonie, Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, Suntory Hall and Kennedy Center Washington, and is a regular guest at both Lincoln Center and Wigmore Hall. He has worked with major orchestras around the globe, most recently the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin, Radio Symphonieorchester Wien, Oslo Philharmonic, Danish National Radio, London Symphony, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Seattle Symphony and Aspen Music Festival. At the end of 2023, his 34th release for Hyperion will be the next instalment in his survey of solo works by Debussy. A label artist since 1998, his recordings span Beethoven, Schubert, Debussy, Ravel, Liszt, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov, Medtner, Messiaen, Britten, Tippett, Crumb and Feldman, and have accumulated numerous awards around the world. Osborne was born in Scotland and studied at St Mary’s Music School in Edinburgh and the Royal Northern College of Music. He is Visiting Professor at the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Patron of the Lammermuir Festival and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2014.