HE HAS been called "the very finest of pianists” by The Guardian, while the Royal Philharmonic Society has praised “the unique magic of his sound combined with a profound musical intelligence”.
He is the English classical pianist Steven Osborne, who plays the Aula Maxima, NUI Galway, on Thursday May 5 at 8pm. The programme will be welcomed by fans of Claude Debussy, as it features the Frenchman's Children’s Corner, Images Book 1, Images Book 2, and L’isle Joyeuse. Rachmaninov's Etude tableau Selection and George Crumb's 1983 piece, Processional, will also be performed.
The Independent said of Osbourne's playing: "If pianos could purr, then the Wigmore’s Steinway would surely have done so, for Osborne stroked it so affectionately, the strings seemed to ring of their own accord." His awards include The Royal Philharmonic Society Instrumentalist of the Year (2013 ) and two Gramophone Awards for recordings of Britten’s works for piano and orchestra, and of solo works by Prokofiev and Mussorgsky.
Tickets are €18/14/6 from Music For Galway (091 - 705962, www.musicforgalway.ie ) or Opus 2, High Street.
