Search - Ronald Stevenson, Alistair Hinton, Ferruccio Busoni :: In Memoriam of John Ogdon 1937-1989

A Salute to one of the Greatest Pianists of our Time

Jason M. Gillespie | Pennsylvania, USA | 07/03/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This two CD set celebrating the life and work of British pianist John Ogdon clearly demonstrates the great impact he has had on the musical life of the United Kingdom in this last half century. With several premier recordings, including the delicious Hinton Pansophiæ, melts from ones stereo, as if this was the only way these pieces should be played. The organ works resonate with sullen drama, though they are perhaps a bit too quiet at times, a drama that Bowyer finds easy to supply. The piano works bristle with Ogdon's ferocious energy, charm, and as Stevenson put it, "the fire of Prometheus and the stillness of dawn". The last selection is a work by Ogdon himself, and it clearly demonstrates why he will be remembered as one of the greatest pianists of our time."