Steven Osborne

Sunday, February 21, 2027 – 3:00 PM

Mairs Concert Hall, Macalester College

“Some pianists gild everything they touch with their own personality; some are like chameleons, finding a new colour for each composer. Last night the wonderful Scottish pianist Steven Osborne did both, which lent the whole evening a miraculous air…every note seemed to vibrate with intelligence”
— The Daily Telegraph

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Program

SCHUMANN
Papillons, Op. 2

ERIK SATIE
Gymnopedie No.3 

LILI BOULANGER
‘D'un jardin clair’ from Trois Morceaux pour piano 

ANATOLY LYADOV
‘A Musical Snuff Box,’ Op.32 

KREISLER (arr. Rachmaninoff)
Liebesleid 

RAVEL
Valses nobles et sentimentales 

SCHUBERT
Sonata in B-flat Major, D. 960

Pianist Steven 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 both the Scottish International Piano Competition and the Lammermuir Festival, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2014. More recently, he was made OBE for his services to music in the Queen’s New Year Honours in 2022.

He has performed in the world’s most renowned 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. Besides standard classical repertoire, Osborne has had a lifelong interest in jazz and often improvises in concerts, bringing acclaimed spontaneity and freedom to his interpretations.

Orchestral engagements in 25/26 included a tour with the Philharmonia Orchestra (Mozart) and performances with the San Diego Symphony (Beethoven), Malmö Symphony, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall (Turangalila) Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. His solo recitals take him to New York, Boston, Washington and London and his musical partnerships continue with Paul Lewis, Alban Gerhardt and Benjamin Beilman. He has also served as Artist-in-Residence at Wigmore Hall, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Bath International Music Festival.

Osborne has been a Hyperion recording artist since 1998, with 35 releases spanning a wide range of composers and winning numerous awards around the world. His 2023 Debussy Études and Pour le piano was awarded five stars by BBC Music Magazine. His most recent addition, from 2025, is Schubert Piano Sonata in A major D959 and Moments Musicaux, which received outstanding reviews, and was hailed by The Times as one of the Best Classical Albums of 2025.

A thoughtful and curious musician, Osborne has also written articles and talks on subjects ranging from stage fright to ‘What does Music Mean?’

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“I love the sense of the silence and space, and the connection with the audience – the feeling that we’re all sharing some kind of experience.”

—Steven Osborne

 “His grasp of Schubert’s scale and ebullience means this is among the finest recordings of one of the composer’s final sonatas.”

—The Guardian

 “Osborne’s playing throughout was mesmerising, a real master of the keyboard. His ability to draw a range of timbres and tones with such a wide range of dynamics was exceptional. In voicing the complex chords and clusters there was always clarity; musical lines had direction and shape with intuitive awareness of how this highly complex music can be phrased eloquently.”  

—Bachtrack

“This was a remarkable concert, thought-provoking on one level but heart-breakingly touching on another.”

— seenandheard-international.com

“Few present-day pianists have continued to expand their repertoire, once their reputation was established, with the zeal of Steven Osborne…”

— classicalsource.com