Alban Gerhardt . Steven Osborne

Steven Osborne is one of the few pianists in the world who can do everything. An all-round musician from top to toe. Classical and Jazz. Solo and Chamber music. Osborne forms a duo with the German cellist Alban Gerhardt. Together they can really indulge themselves in a performance of Alkan's Cello Sonata, which is quite a sensational discovery! Alkan is one of the most obscure and often overlooked composers of the nineteenth century. Unfortunately, the tales surrounding his misanthropy and bizarre habits have become better known than his music. Chopin and Liszt admired him as one of the greatest piano virtuosos of his time. His compositions were innovative on every level. Even more than Liszt, Alkan expanded the boundaries of the piano in search of orchestral effects. It's about time that we became better acquainted with this 'Berlioz of the keyboard'! In Piazzolla's 'Le Grand Tango' we see a more swinging side to Gerhardt and Osborne. In this 1982 work, Piazzolla combined elements of the tango with the contemporary classical idiom. It was no less a master than Rostropovich who first performed the work and contributed to Piazzolla's acceptance by the classical music world.