Steven Osborne

Steven Osborne’s second Milton Court recital this season is dedicated to the American avant-garde composers Morton Feldman and George Crumb. While they come from divergent philosophical standpoints, Steven chose to highlight their shared obsession with the ‘sound’ aspect of music by combining Crumb and Feldman in one programme.

The programme features two works from the beginning of Feldman’s career – Intermission 5 and Extensions 3, both composed in 1952 – as well as his last solo piano composition, Palais de Mari, written more than 30 years later, in 1986. Crumb’s Processional (1980) is the only of his piano works not to use extended techniques, whereas A Little Suite for Christmas – inspired by Giotto’s frescoes in Padua – is more characteristic in its striking use of pedals.