The phrase "edgy brilliance" takes on a whole new meaning in these phenomenal four discs of electrifying performances by English pianist
John Ogdon. A prodigy of unparalleled virtuosity and an interpreter of keen intelligence,
Ogdon's career lasted barely 11 years from his tying for first prize in the Moscow
Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in 1962 to his schizophrenic breakdown in 1973, and although
Ogdon came back in 1975, his playing and career never really recovered, and he died prematurely of pneumonia at 52. This four-disc set from EMI contains not only
Ogdon's well-known breathtaking 1962 recordings of
Rachmaninov's Second Concerto with John Pritchard and
Tchaikovsky's First Concerto with
John Barbirolli, but previously unreleased and equally awe-inspiring 1963 recordings of
Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and
Liszt's Hungarian Fantasia and Rhapsodie espagnole, plus a jaw-dropping 1964 recording of the latter's B minor Sonata. In addition, EMI has released for the first time three large-scale works by
Ogdon himself: his three-movement Piano Concerto recorded in 1970 with
Lawrence Foster leading the
Royal Philharmonic, his three-movement Piano Sonata recorded in 1972 and his Theme and Variations recorded in 1966. They reveal a highly skilled, wildly inspired, and aggressively modernist composer at his most ingratiating in the concerto's central Moderato languido and his least approachable in the sonata's central Andante. Except for the slightly recessed piano sound in the Paganini Rhapsody, EMI's stereo sound is consistently sharp, bright, clean, and focused.