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From the moment he entered the hall, Osborne’s confidence captured the audience. His ensuing performance, from delicate trickles of semiquavers to emotive explosions of chords, maintained such a mesmeric atmosphere that his status as one of the most acclaimed pianists in the country was not only maintained, but enhanced. It was a programme of contrasts, with a first half of Beethoven bagatelles followed by a concluding selection of preludes by Debussy and Rachmaninov. Osborne linked the sets of short works not just through the latter’s stylistic relation to the bagatelle, but also through his continual attention to every change of timbre, mood and emotion.
Although Beethoven remains one of the most frequently performed of composers, Osborne chose to programme some of his lesser known works in their entirety: Seven Bagatelles Op. 33 and Eleven Bagatelles Op. 119. Sandwiched between the two collections was Sonata in G op. 79, unusually light for a Beethoven sonata, but perfectly suited for a programme dominated by bagatelles. Despite the lack of Beethoven’s trademark tragic turbulence, Osborne brought out every dissonance, every suspension, every ounce of emotion encapsulated in each short movement.
Despite beginning the second phase of the concert under an outburst of coughing, Osborne managed to entrance his audience once more, delving into the impressionistic dream-like preludes of Debussy. Whilst his performance of the Beethoven was outstanding, it was in this mélange of mystery, emotion and exploratory timbre that the pianist seemed to truly flourish. From the melancholic ‘Footsteps in the Snow’; through the fury of ‘What the West Wind has Seen’, the beautiful ‘Girl with the Flaxen Hair’ and the jovial ‘The Interrupted Serenade’; to the tranquil ‘The Sunken Cathedral’, Osborne meticulously portrayed each scene with utmost care and craftsmanship.
After a short break, the audience were treated to Preludes 9-13, from Rachmaninov’s Op. 32 (which he recently recorded to great critical acclaim). With thick textures and rich sonority, but great contrasts of emotion – portrayed through Osborne’s gigantic dynamic range and powerfully perceptive performance – the works brought the concert to a climactic finale, duly receiving rapturous applause and calls for an encore. The pianist gladly complied, treating his listeners to another mellow Debussy prelude.
As Steven Osborne continues to go from strength to strength, so too does the York University concert series. Osborne’s performance was an exceptional example of the quality available to students here, and whilst it is now just an inspirational memory to those who attended, it paves the way for countless more people to be inspired over the next three terms.
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