here Osborne’s phrasing and pacing is pure and poetic, as well as raptly atmospheric in ‘The Snow is Dancing’ and it finishes with a deliciously louche cake-walk.

Osborne traverses this well-known repertory with obvious relish, relying on immense musical and technical resources to reveal fresh, unexpected perspectives on music we all thought we knew. Intimacies of disarming candour are whispered into the ear...This is music-making of great subtlety and finesse which neither lovers of Debussy and French music nor those who value piano-playing on the highest artistic level will want to miss.

This finely recorded disc is a memorable addition to the Debussy catalogue.

The frequently elusive qualities of Debussy’s alluring musical palette are beautifully revealed by Steven Osborne. This is one of the finest recital albums I have heard for some time.

Osborne is immaculate, as passionate as precise, equally irresistible in Debussy’s filigree, his bravura or his spacious monumentality.

Forget any cliches of hazy impressionism, Osborne brings directness and muscle, and the boldest aspects of texture, form and image stand out in ultra high definition as a result...what makes Osborne’s interpretations so revelatory is his willingness to state in plain terms what many pianists make blurry. It shows up the astounding modernism of Debussy’s piano music.

Osborne opens his latest Hyperion release, D’un cahier d’esquisses (From a Sketchbook), a subtly expressive gem, enigmatic and hypnotic; and irresistible enough to delay listening to the rest of the disc – I just had to play it again (and again!).