George Osborne

Who was George Osborne?

George Alexander Osborne was an Irish composer and pianist.

Osborne was born in Limerick. He left Ireland at the age of nineteen, thereafter dividing his time between England and France. While in Paris, he studied under Johann Peter Pixis, François-Joseph Fétis and Friedrich Kalkbrenner. In 1843, Osborne settled permanently in London, where he held directorships of the Philharmonic Society and the Royal Academy of Music.

During his lifetime, Osborne was noted more for his piano playing than for his compositions. Included among those who attended his solo concerts in Paris were Hector Berlioz and Frédéric Chopin, both of whom befriended him. Osborne advised Berlioz about writing for the piano, and he encouraged a nervous Chopin during the latter's tour of England in 1848.

Osborne's compositions were mostly on a small scale and included songs, chamber music pieces, and works for solo piano. Berlioz observed that Osborne's songs and trios were ‘lofty in style and spacious in design’. Although he is known to have also composed two operas and several orchestral works, these are now lost. One of Osborne's most popular compositions was a piano piece entitled La pluie de perles.