Top pianist Steven Osborne back at the Residentie Orkest
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Known for his enormous musicality and his refined and intelligent performances. The Scottish Steven Osborne guarantees a special, fresh approach to both known and unknown repertoire. After almost twenty years, he returns to The Hague with Beethoven's indestructible Emperor Concerto. "I want to get to the heart of the music."
The young Osborne studied piano in Edinburgh and at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. At the age of 20, he managed to win the prestigious Clara Haskil International Piano Competition (1991) and, not long after, the Naumberg International Competition. Since then he has played with top orchestras around the world, winning prize after prize with his impressive series of recordings from Beethoven to contemporary, and in 2013 the Royal Philharmonic Society named him Instrumentalist of the Year.
Poet
Don't expect grand gestures from Osborne or a pianist dashing across the keys like a frenzy. He is more of a poet, an introspective and thoughtful musician. For him, the most important thing is how the music feels, he told me not long ago before a concert with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra. "First and foremost, I want to penetrate to the heart, to the core of the music. What do you feel about the music and what do you want the listeners to experience? Around that core idea there is obviously room for other aspects."
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Jazz
By the way, Steven Osborne is not only a well-known Beethoven interpreter, he has had a great interest in jazz music all his life. This originated during his studies when he discovered and grayed out Keith Jarrett's records. "There are other jazz musicians with Jarrett's spontaneity, but none with his ultimate control over the keys. There are classical pianists with that control but without Jarrett's boundless spontaneity. That mix is what makes Jarrett's playing so deeply communicative." It is undeniable that Osborne will take this into the back of his mind when playing, for example, Beethoven's Emperor Concerto, on Sunday, April 14, in The Hague. And hopefully there will be an encore, too!