‘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
Steven Osborne’s musical insight and integrity underpin idiomatic interpretations of varied repertoire that have won him fans around the world. The extent of his range is demonstrated by his 35 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. The Observer described him as ‘a player in absolute service to the composer’.
A thoughtful and curious musician, he has served as Artist-in-Residence at Wigmore Hall, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Bath International Music Festival, and has written articles and talks on subjects ranging from stage fright to What does Music Mean?
Osborne has a lifelong interest in jazz and often improvises in concerts, bringing this spontaneity and freedom to all his interpretations. Throughout the 24/25 and 25/26 seasons he performs a recital programme which narrates one of his personal musical journeys through works by Meredith Monk, Frederic Rzewski and his own transcriptions of Ketih Jarrett, Bill Evans and Oscar Peterson as well as his own jazz improvisations.
Orchestral engagements in 25/26 include a tour with the Philharmonia Orchestra (Mozart) and performances with the San Diego Symphony (Beethoven), Malmö Symphony, Pacific Symphony (Lutosławski) and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at both the Royal Festival Hall (Turangalila) as well as a performance of John Rutter’s recently discovered piano concerto, Reflections (released on Decca in January). His solo recitals take him to New York, Boston, Washington and London whilst his musical partnerships continue with Paul Lewis, Alban Gerhardt and Benjamin Beilman.
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 Czech Philharmonic/Bychkov, Dresden Philharmonic/Runnicles, Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin, Oslo Philharmonic/Petrenko, Finnish Radio Symphony/Collon, Philharmonia/Rouvali and Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestras.
He has been a Hyperion recording artist since 1998, with releases spanning Beethoven, Schubert, Ravel, Debussy, Liszt, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, Medtner, Kapustin, Messiaen, Britten, Tippett, Crumb and Feldman, and winning numerous awards around the world. His most recent addition is Schubert’s Piano Sonata in A major D959 and Moment Musicaux in 2025, which received outstanding reviews, and which The Times hailed as one of the Best Classical Albums of 2025 so far (five stars). His 2023 Debussy Études and Pour le piano, was awarded five stars by BBC Music Magazine and described as ‘full of superlatives’. His January 2023 performance of Tippett’s Piano Concerto with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Edward Gardner at the Royal Festival Hall was later released on the LPO’s own label in 2025, receiving widespread critical acclaim.
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.