Great Scot will make all the difference
TALENTEDScottish pianist Steven Osborne will perform contrasting works by Debussy and Prokofiev in his only Tasmanian appearance at the Albert Hall in Launceston on Tuesday.
Osborne won first prize in the Clara Haskil International Piano Competition in Switzerland in 1991 soon after he graduated, and six years later took out the Naumburg International Competition in New York.
His talents were further recognised when he was selected as the inaugural BBC New Generation Artist, and in 2013 he was named the Royal Philharmonic Society Instrumentalist of the Year.
Osborne is a regular participant in the Proms and Wigmore Hall concerts in London, and has performed at leading concert halls around the world.
In Launceston on Tuesday, Osborne will show the different approaches to the piano by Debussy and Prokofiev. Debussy considered the piano a sensuous instrument and emphasised its dreamy, colourful and picturesque attributes, while Prokofiev’s pieces are powerful, intense and percussive.
The program will begin with Estampes by Debussy, which makes extensive use of pentatonic scales and mimics Indonesian traditional melodies by incorporating hints of Javanese gamelan percussion in the opening movement.
The second uses the Arabic scale and evokes Spanish-style guitar music.
The third is inspired by a garden in Normandy.
Prokofiev’s Sonata No.6 was written in 1940 and was the first of his three war sonatas. It has atonal elements and a march-like sound in the second movement.
Debussy’s Images Series 2 is in French Impressionistic style and evokes sounds of bells, the moon over a temple and golden fish, most probably inspired by Chinese art.
Tuesday’s concert will conclude with Sonata No.8 by Prokofiev, which is the third of his war sonatas.
Steven Osborne’s concert starts at the Albert Hall in Launceston at 7.30pm on Tuesday. Tickets are from $55 for adults, available from tso.com.au