A pianist to rival Richter Gramophone

Britten: Complete works for Piano and Orchestra

GRAMOPHONE AWARD WINNER

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Ilan Volkov

Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) | Duration 71'16
Hyperion Records CDA67625

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The incomparable Steven Osborne, with the BBC SSO and Ilan Volkov in electrifying form … The music has a bubbling effervescence … and is delivered by Osborne with his characteristic sense of discipline (pristine playing) and buccaneering spirit.
Glasgow Herald

It's the concerto, though, that is the real draw here, for Osborne's account has such deftness and wit that its only possible rival on disc is the performance by Sviatoslav Richter with Britten conducting
The Guardian ****

Steven Osborne plays the schismatic, bravura solo part with dashing abandon. He's admirably partnered by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Ilan Volkov's baton.
San Francisco Chronicle

Osborne exults in Britten’s dazzlingly pianistic writing.... A thrilling disc.
The Times *****

Diversions ... presents Britten's inventiveness at its most elegant while also finding serious depth in its penultimate Adagio. Osborne and the orchestra do this neglected jewel excellent justice.
BBC Music Magazine

Osborne and his colleagues make the best possible case for pieces which tend to have been placed on the outer fringes of the Britten canon.
Gramophone

The rapport between soloist and orchestra is often electrifying, especially in their fervent performance of Young Apollo.
The Telegraph

It is hard to imagine more persuasive advocates for the music. Osborne is dazzling in the showier passages (of which there are many) in all three works, and all challenges are met head-on in exemplary performances.
The Scotsman****

Osborne's account of Britten's 1938 Piano Concerto Op 13 is full of fire and wit.
The Times ****

All three pieces get crackerjack performances from pianist Steven Osborne, conductor Ilan Volkov and the Scottish orchestra, and the recorded sound is top-notch.
Dallas Morning News

Each work has different charms and challenges and Osborne responds to them all. These are great works, which show optimism, ability and sheer technical brilliance.
Musicweb International


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Britten: Complete works for Piano and Orchestra
  • Piano Concerto in D major op.13
     

  • Toccata
    play track 

  • Waltz
     

  • Impromptu
    play track 

  • March
     

  • Original version of the third movement of the Piano Concerto: Recitative and Aria
     

  • Young Apollo for piano, string quartet and string orchestra, op.16
    play track 

  • Diversions for piano (left hand) and orchestra op.21
     

  • Theme
    play track 

  • Variation I: Recitative
    play track 

  • Variation II: Romance
     

  • Variation III: March
     

  • Variation IV: Arabesque
     

  • Variation V: Chant
     

  • Variation VI: Nocturne
    play track 

  • Variation VII: Badinerie
    play track 

  • Variation VIII: Burlesque
     

  • Variation IXa: Toccata I
     

  • Variation IXb: Toccata II - Cadenza
     

  • Variation X: Adagio
     

  • Finale: Tarantella
    play track