Mendelssohn Piano Concertos Nos 1 & 2

A great pianist heard in music at which he excelled – shame about the accompaniment in the Mendelssohn

Record and Artist Details

Composer or Director: Cyril (Meir) Scott, Felix Mendelssohn, John (Nicholson) Ireland

Genre:

Orchestral

Label: Testament

Media Format: CD or Download

Media Runtime: 71

Mastering:

Stereo
ADD

Catalogue Number: SBT1288

Tracks:

Composition Artist Credit
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 Felix Mendelssohn, Composer
Aldo Ceccato, Conductor
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer
John Ogdon, Piano
London Symphony Orchestra
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 Felix Mendelssohn, Composer
Aldo Ceccato, Conductor
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer
John Ogdon, Piano
London Symphony Orchestra
(The) Holy Boy John (Nicholson) Ireland, Composer
John (Nicholson) Ireland, Composer
John Ogdon, Piano
(2) Pieces, Movement: April John (Nicholson) Ireland, Composer
John (Nicholson) Ireland, Composer
John Ogdon, Piano
(2) Pieces, Movement: Lotus Land Cyril (Meir) Scott, Composer
Cyril (Meir) Scott, Composer
John Ogdon, Piano
Danse nègre Cyril (Meir) Scott, Composer
Cyril (Meir) Scott, Composer
John Ogdon, Piano
Rondo brillant Felix Mendelssohn, Composer
Aldo Ceccato, Conductor
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer
John Ogdon, Piano
London Symphony Orchestra

Composer or Director: Sergey Rachmaninov, Ferruccio (Dante Michelangiolo Benvenuto) Busoni

Genre:

Instrumental

Label: Testament

Media Format: CD or Download

Media Runtime: 78

Mastering:

Stereo
ADD

Catalogue Number: SBT1295

Tracks:

Composition Artist Credit
(9) Etudes-tableaux, Movement: No. 1 in F minor Sergey Rachmaninov, Composer
John Ogdon, Piano
Sergey Rachmaninov, Composer
(9) Etudes-tableaux, Movement: No. 2 in C Sergey Rachmaninov, Composer
John Ogdon, Piano
Sergey Rachmaninov, Composer
(9) Etudes-tableaux, Movement: No. 3 in C minor Sergey Rachmaninov, Composer
John Ogdon, Piano
Sergey Rachmaninov, Composer
(9) Etudes-tableaux, Movement: No. 5 in D minor Sergey Rachmaninov, Composer
John Ogdon, Piano
Sergey Rachmaninov, Composer
(9) Etudes-tableaux, Movement: No. 6 in E flat minor Sergey Rachmaninov, Composer
John Ogdon, Piano
Sergey Rachmaninov, Composer
(9) Etudes-tableaux, Movement: No. 7 in E flat Sergey Rachmaninov, Composer
John Ogdon, Piano
Sergey Rachmaninov, Composer
(9) Etudes-tableaux, Movement: No. 8 in G minor Sergey Rachmaninov, Composer
John Ogdon, Piano
Sergey Rachmaninov, Composer
(9) Etudes-tableaux, Movement: No. 9 in C sharp minor Sergey Rachmaninov, Composer
John Ogdon, Piano
Sergey Rachmaninov, Composer
(9) Etudes-tableaux Sergey Rachmaninov, Composer
John Ogdon, Piano
Sergey Rachmaninov, Composer
Sonatina No. 6, `Fantasia da camera sur Carmen' Ferruccio (Dante Michelangiolo Benvenuto) Busoni, Composer
Ferruccio (Dante Michelangiolo Benvenuto) Busoni, Composer
John Ogdon, Piano
(7) Elegien, Movement: No. 4, Turandots Frauengemach (Intermezzo) Ferruccio (Dante Michelangiolo Benvenuto) Busoni, Composer
Ferruccio (Dante Michelangiolo Benvenuto) Busoni, Composer
John Ogdon, Piano
Variations and Fugue on Chopin's C minor Prelude Ferruccio (Dante Michelangiolo Benvenuto) Busoni, Composer
Ferruccio (Dante Michelangiolo Benvenuto) Busoni, Composer
John Ogdon, Piano
Aldo Ceccato is not the most inspiring of partners for John Ogdon. Even the excellent playing of the Philharmonia cannot compensate for lacklustre direction and, in the slow movement of the Mendelssohn D minor Concerto, little interest in watchful balance. Mendelssohn’s Molto sostenuto marking brings a thickened string texture and stilted rhythm.

He is outclassed by Eugene Ormandy, who conducts with tremendous flair for Rudolf Serkin on Sony; and Ogdon is, in his own way, the equal of that ‘golden oldie’. His bravura is aristocratic – he is particularly fine in the finale of the G minor, seeming to break free of Ceccato’s influence – and is most tender in the ruminative sections. The Rondo Brillante is similarly uneven in pairing.

Ogdon is discerning about applying the sustaining pedal in Mendelssohn, and in the Etudes-Tableaux, too, where Rachmaninov largely left matters to the discretion of pianists. Ogdon uses his discretion to telling effect in Op 39 No 3, seeing in its asymmetric phrases a fractured, harassed line where Ashkenazy pedals to suggest continuous desperation. No 2 is a slow and ascetic Lento assai in Ashkenazy’s hands, while Ogdon prefers a slightly faster tempo and a more cantabile tone. Ogdon’s dynamic control is very good, though his control of dexterity is sometimes fallible. But that doesn’t debase his keen understanding of Rachmaninov; or Scott and Ireland, even if The Holy Boy doesn’t flow as easily as it might.

Ogdon’s empathy for the music of Busoni means he is at his best, a spot of insecurity early in the Variations and Fugue notwithstanding. The recordings are good, too, allowing Ogdon’s deep insight and superlative pianism to emerge with pristine clarity. His interpretation of Turandots Frauengemach, with its mixture of virtuosity and serenity (the distant trumpets towards the end beautifully recreated) is enough to tell us just what we lost when psychological demons destroyed John Ogdon.

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