Benjamin Beilman, violin
Steven Osborne, piano

Benjamin Beilman is one of the leading violinists of his generation. He has won international praise for his passionate performances and deep rich tone which The New York Times described as “muscular with a glint of violence”, and the Strad described as “pure poetry.“ Le Monde has described him as “a prodigious artist, who combines the gift of utmost sound perfection and a deep, delicate, intense, simmering sensitivity”.

Benjamin’s 2024/25 season includes his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic and Kirill Petrenko on tour in the US, as well as returns to the Chicago Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, and Antwerp Symphony. He also makes his debut with the Belgian National Orchestra in a performance of Stravinsky’s concerto, and with the Tokyo Metropolitain Symphony performing Korngold. In the US, he also embarks on a recital tour with pianist Steven Osborne.

Last season included Benjamin’s subscription debut with the Chicago Symphony with Semyon Bychkov, and six weeks of performances in Europe, including concerts with the SWR Symphonieorchester Stuttgart alongside Elim Chan, a return to the Kölner Philharmonie with the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken, and appearances at the Grafenegg Festival, Festpielhaus St. Pölten, and the Musikverein in Vienna with the Tonkünstler Orchester and Tabita Berglund. He also returned to play-direct the London Chamber Orchestra, and re-united with Ryan Bancroft for his debut with BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Meanwhile, performances in the US included his debut with the St Louis Symphony under Cristian Macelaru, as well as returns to the Minnesota Orchestra with Elim Chan.

In past seasons, Benjamin has performed with many major orchestras worldwide including the Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Rotterdam Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Trondheim Symphony, Oslo Philharmonic, Taipei Symphony, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Zurich Tonhalle, Sydney Symphony, and Houston Symphony. He has also extensively toured Australia in recital under Musica Aviva, and in 2022, became one of the youngest artists to be appointed to the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music.In recent seasons Beilman’s commitment to and passion for contemporary music has led to new works written for him by Frederic Rzewski (commissioned by Music Accord), and Gabriella Smith (commissioned by the Schubert Club in St. Paul, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music). He has also given multiple performances of Jennifer Higdon’s violin concerto, and recorded Thomas Larcher’s concerto with Hannu Lintu and the Tonkünstler Orchester, as well as premiered Chris Rogerson’s Violin Concerto (“The Little Prince”) with the Kansas City Symphony and Gemma New.

Conductors with whom he works include Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Cristian Măcelaru, Lahav Shani, Krzysztof Urbański, Ryan Bancroft, Matthias Pintscher, Gemma New, Karina Canellakis, Jonathon Heyward, Juraj Valčuha, Han-Na Chang, Elim Chan, Roderick Cox, Rafael Payare, Osmo Vänskä, and Giancarlo Guerrero.

Beilman studied at the Curtis Institute of Music with Ida Kavafian and Pamela Frank, and with Christian Tetzlaff at the Kronberg Academy, and has received many prestigious accolades including a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship, an Avery Fisher Career Grant and a London Music Masters Award. He has also recorded works by Stravinsky, Janáček and Schubert for Warner Classics. He perfoms with the ex-Balaković F. X. Tourte bow (c. 1820), and plays the “Ysaÿe” Guarneri del Gesù from 1740, generously on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation.

Steven Osborne’s musical insight and integrity underpin idiomatic interpretations of diverse repertoire that have won him fans around the world. The extent of his range is demonstrated by his 33 recordings for Hyperion, which have earned numerous awards, and he was made OBE for his services to music in the Queen’s New Year Honours in 2022.

A thoughtful and curious musician, he is often invited to curate festivals, including at Antwerp’s DeSingel, Bath International Music Festival and Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, and has served as Artist-in-Residence at Wigmore Hall. The Observer described him as ‘a player in absolute service to the composer’ and his close reading of composers’ scores has led him to create his own edition of Rachmaninov. He has a lifelong interest in jazz and often improvises in concerts, bringing this spontaneity and freedom to all his interpretations.

In 2023–24, Osborne returns to recent recording repertoire by Beethoven and Debussy, and has devised a special programme of miniatures, ranging from Bach through to jazz, which reflects his own musical journey. He opens the 23–24 season for the BBC Scottish Symphony, performing Ryan Wigglesworth’s Piano Concerto, and performs with the Czech Philharmonic/Bychkov, Israel Philharmonic/Petrenko, Dresden Philharmonic, Brussels Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony and Philharmonia/Rouvali.

Osborne has performed in the world’s most prestigious venues, including the Wiener Konzerthaus, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Berlin Philharmonie, Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, Suntory Hall and Kennedy Center Washington, and is a regular guest at both Lincoln Center and Wigmore Hall. He has worked with major orchestras around the globe, most recently the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin, Radio Symphonieorchester Wien, Oslo Philharmonic, Danish National Radio, London Symphony, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Seattle Symphony and Aspen Music Festival.

At the end of 2023, his 34th release for Hyperion will be the next instalment in his survey of solo works by Debussy. A label artist since 1998, his recordings span Beethoven, Schubert, Debussy, Ravel, Liszt, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov, Medtner, Messiaen, Britten, Tippett, Crumb and Feldman, and have accumulated numerous awards around the world.

Osborne was born in Scotland and studied at St Mary’s Music School in Edinburgh and the Royal Northern College of Music. He is Visiting Professor at the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Patron of the Lammermuir Festival and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2014.