He was taught by Richard Beauchamp at St Mary's Music School in Edinburgh before going to the Royal Northern College of Music/Manchester University (joint course) in Manchester to study under Renna Kellaway. After graduating, Osborne went on to win first prize in the prestigious Clara Haskil Competition in 1991 and the Naumburg International Competition in New York in May 1997.
His recordings on the Hyperion label include, amongst others, Liszt's Harmonies poétiques et religieuses and works by Nikolai Kapustin, and have been acclaimed in the musical press. His recording of Britten's works for piano and orchestra won a Gramophone Award in 2009, and his recordings of Rachmaninoff's Preludes, Messiaen's Vingt regards sur l'enfant-Jésus, and Tippett's piano works were all nominated for classical music awards.
