Steven Osborne and Rachmaninov close Inverness Piano Recitals season

Inverness Piano Recitals were delighted to have welcomed back to the Highlands a genuine Scottish musical maestro in Steven Osborne, who is by any measure a firm favourite in the city.

Steven’s interpretations are always insightful and have an abundance of musicality and technique.

On March 20, patrons of IPR were treated to a full programme of Sergei Rachmaninov’s finest piano pieces to draw to a close this season’s performances in the Town House.

Steven opened with Rachmaninov’s Opus 28 Piano Sonata No 1 in D minor, giving the audience the benefit of scalpel-sharp virtuosity with appropriate romantic phrasing.

Rachmaninov scales the heights of the Himalayas with his creation/interpretation of piano music and if this is not Everest then it is pretty close.

Steven then treated us to some of Rachmaninov’s Preludes – Op 23 No 4, gentle and soothing; Op 32 No 5 is equally gentle and expressive as though played with angelically light fingers!; and Op 32 No 3 in contrast is played moderato with a hint of spice.

These preludes were three short but absolutely divine snips of piano 'tapas'. Etudes-tableaux Op 33 No 5 – this particular piece is essentially a musical 'picture', though in truth, for me, it had an almost military connotation with marching in my brain from my days in the RAF.

The final piece on the programme was the composer's Piano Sonata No 2 and the second movement is truly magnificent in its non-allegro – lento theme. This, despite the fact that Rachmaninov was in a depressive state when he first wrote it.

Subsequently it was reduced somewhat to the version we had from Steven.

As an encore, Steven rendered The Song Of Simon – or Nunc Dimittis, in Latin. Effectively this means "now you let depart" and that is an effective end to the recital.

So ends another season for Inverness Piano Recitals with Steven Osborne at the helm of the performances.

Haste ye back, Steven. Tom Walker

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