John Ogdon
Encyclopedia
John Andrew Howard Ogdon (27 January 1937 – 1 August 1989) was an English pianist
and composer
.
, Nottinghamshire
, and attended Manchester Grammar School
, before studying at the Royal Northern College of Music
between 1953 and 1957, where his fellow students under Richard Hall
included Harrison Birtwistle
, Alexander Goehr
, Elgar Howarth
and Peter Maxwell Davies
. Together they formed New Music Manchester, a group dedicated to the performances of serial and other modern works. His tutor there was Claud Biggs. As a boy he had studied with Iso Elinson and after leaving college, he further studied with Gordon Green, Denis Matthews
, Dame Myra Hess
, and Egon Petri
— the latter in Basel
, Switzerland.
He won first prize at the London Liszt Competition in 1961 and consolidated his growing international reputation by winning another first prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition
in Moscow in 1962, jointly with Vladimir Ashkenazy
.
John Ogdon was able to play most pieces at sight and had committed a huge range of pieces to memory. He enjoyed fully using his vast talents, for example wanting to record the complete works for piano of Rachmaninoff
(which constitute about 6-full length CDs). He did not record all these works, but those he did record - about half - were released in 2001. He recorded all ten Scriabin
sonata
s early in his career. Ogdon was also a formidable exponent of the works of Alkan
and Busoni
. In more familiar repertoire, he revealed deep musical sensibilities, always buttressed by a colossal technique. He also recorded a number of duo-piano works with his wife, Brenda Lucas (aka Brenda Lucas Ogdon).
On 2 February 1969, on British television, he gave the first modern performance of Edward Elgar
's Concert Allegro
, Op. 46. The piece was never published and the manuscript had long been believed lost, but it came to light in 1968. Ogdon and Diana McVeigh developed a performing version of the piece from Elgar's manuscript, which was full of corrections, crossings out and additions.
His own compositions number more than 200, and include 4 operas, 2 large works for orchestra, 3 cantatas, songs, chamber music, a substantial amount of music for solo piano, and 2 piano concertos, the first of which he recorded. The majority of his music was composed for the piano. These include 50 transcriptions of works by composers as diverse as Stravinsky
, Palestrina
, Mozart
, Satie
and Wagner
. He also made piano arrangements of songs by Cole Porter
, Jerome Kern
and George Gershwin
. He also wrote sonatas for violin, flute and cello, all unaccompanied. A planned symphony based on the works of Herman Melville
, and a comic opera, were left unfinished. The original manuscripts of many of John Ogdon's compositions now reside at the Royal Northern College of Music Library Catalogue.
but then changed to manic depression (either was possibly inherited from his father, who committed suicide). Ogdon spent some time in the Maudsley Hospital
in London, and in general needed more nursing than it was possible to provide while touring. Nevertheless, he was reported to maintain three hours' practice a day on the hospital's piano
.
In 1983, after emerging from hospital, he played at the opening of the Royal Concert Hall
in Nottingham
. In 1988 he released a five-disc recording of an interpretation of Sorabji
's Opus clavicembalisticum
, shortly before he died in August 1989 of pneumonia
, brought on by undiagnosed diabetes.
The BBC
made a film about his life titled Virtuoso, based on his biography written by Brenda Lucas Ogdon. John Ogdon was played by Alfred Molina
, who won a Best Actor award from the Royal Television Society
for his performance. This production suggested Ogdon's illness was manic depression rather than schizophrenia as he responded to the former treatment better. Brenda Ogdon also recalled being informed that his obsessive music work could be a symptom of the former condition.
John Ogdon Foundation reproduced from The Gramophone Spring 1998 edition as
compiled by Michael Glover. However, a small number of other recordings have since come to light as listed below.
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
.
Biography
Ogdon was born in Mansfield WoodhouseMansfield Woodhouse
Mansfield Woodhouse is a large village about 2 kilometres north of Mansfield itself, in Nottinghamshire, England. With a history dating back before the Romans, it is still noteworthy for its stone built town centre...
, Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
, and attended Manchester Grammar School
Manchester Grammar School
The Manchester Grammar School is the largest independent day school for boys in the UK . It is based in Manchester, England...
, before studying at the Royal Northern College of Music
Royal Northern College of Music
The Royal Northern College of Music is a music school in Manchester, England. It is located on Oxford Road in Chorlton on Medlock, at the western edge of the campus of the University of Manchester and is one of four conservatories associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music...
between 1953 and 1957, where his fellow students under Richard Hall
Richard Hall (composer)
Richard Hall was an English musician and composer who became professor of composition at the Royal Manchester College of Music, a position he held from 1938 until 1956, when he became director of music at Dartington College of Arts...
included Harrison Birtwistle
Harrison Birtwistle
Sir Harrison Paul Birtwistle CH is a British contemporary composer.-Life:Birtwistle was born in Accrington, a mill town in Lancashire some 20 miles north of Manchester. His interest in music was encouraged by his mother, who bought him a clarinet when he was seven, and arranged for him to have...
, Alexander Goehr
Alexander Goehr
Alexander Goehr is an English composer and academic.Goehr was born in Berlin in 1932, the son of the conductor and Schoenberg pupil Walter Goehr. In his early twenties he emerged as a central figure in the Manchester School of post-war British composers. In 1955–56 he joined Oliver Messiaen's...
, Elgar Howarth
Elgar Howarth
Elgar Howarth is an English conductor and composer.Howarth was educated in the 1950s at Manchester University and the Royal Manchester College of Music , where his fellow students included the composers Harrison Birtwistle, Alexander Goehr, Peter Maxwell Davies, and the...
and Peter Maxwell Davies
Peter Maxwell Davies
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, CBE is an English composer and conductor and is currently Master of the Queen's Music.-Biography:...
. Together they formed New Music Manchester, a group dedicated to the performances of serial and other modern works. His tutor there was Claud Biggs. As a boy he had studied with Iso Elinson and after leaving college, he further studied with Gordon Green, Denis Matthews
Denis Matthews
Denis Matthews was an English pianist and musicologist.Denis James Matthews was born in Coventry, the son of a motor salesman. He attended Arnold Lodge School, Leamington Spa, from 1927 to 1932 and Warwick School from October 1932 to the summer of 1936, when he left to study at the Royal Academy...
, Dame Myra Hess
Myra Hess
Dame Myra Hess DBE was a British pianist.She was born in London as Julia Myra Hess, but was best known by her middle name. At the age of five she began to study the piano and two years later entered the Guildhall School of Music, where she graduated as winner of the Gold Medal...
, and Egon Petri
Egon Petri
Egon Petri was a classical pianist.-Biography:Petri's family was Dutch and he was born a Dutch citizen, but he was born in Hanover in Germany and was brought up in Dresden. His father was a professional violinist who taught his son that instrument. Petri played in the Dresden Court Orchestra and...
— the latter in Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
, Switzerland.
He won first prize at the London Liszt Competition in 1961 and consolidated his growing international reputation by winning another first prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition
International Tchaikovsky Competition
The International Tchaikovsky Competition is a classical music competition held every four years in Moscow, Russia for pianists, violinists, and cellists between 16 and 30 years of age, and singers between 19 and 32 years of age...
in Moscow in 1962, jointly with Vladimir Ashkenazy
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy is a Russian-Icelandic conductor and pianist. Since 1972 he has been a citizen of Iceland, his wife Þórunn's country of birth. Since 1978, because of his many obligations in Europe, he and his family have resided in Meggen, near Lucerne in Switzerland...
.
John Ogdon was able to play most pieces at sight and had committed a huge range of pieces to memory. He enjoyed fully using his vast talents, for example wanting to record the complete works for piano of Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
(which constitute about 6-full length CDs). He did not record all these works, but those he did record - about half - were released in 2001. He recorded all ten Scriabin
Alexander Scriabin
Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin was a Russian composer and pianist who initially developed a lyrical and idiosyncratic tonal language inspired by the music of Frédéric Chopin. Quite independent of the innovations of Arnold Schoenberg, Scriabin developed an increasingly atonal musical system,...
sonata
Sonata
Sonata , in music, literally means a piece played as opposed to a cantata , a piece sung. The term, being vague, naturally evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms prior to the Classical era...
s early in his career. Ogdon was also a formidable exponent of the works of Alkan
Charles-Valentin Alkan
Charles-Valentin Alkan was a French composer and one of the greatest virtuoso pianists of his day. His attachment to his Jewish origins is displayed both in his life and his work. He entered the Paris Conservatoire at the age of six, earning many awards, and as an adult became a famous virtuoso...
and Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni was an Italian composer, pianist, editor, writer, piano and composition teacher, and conductor.-Biography:...
. In more familiar repertoire, he revealed deep musical sensibilities, always buttressed by a colossal technique. He also recorded a number of duo-piano works with his wife, Brenda Lucas (aka Brenda Lucas Ogdon).
On 2 February 1969, on British television, he gave the first modern performance of Edward Elgar
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...
's Concert Allegro
Concert Allegro (Elgar)
The Concert Allegro, Op. 46 by Sir Edward Elgar is a piece of music for solo piano. It takes about 10 minutes to perform. It is the only piano work he wrote that was designed for concert performance...
, Op. 46. The piece was never published and the manuscript had long been believed lost, but it came to light in 1968. Ogdon and Diana McVeigh developed a performing version of the piece from Elgar's manuscript, which was full of corrections, crossings out and additions.
His own compositions number more than 200, and include 4 operas, 2 large works for orchestra, 3 cantatas, songs, chamber music, a substantial amount of music for solo piano, and 2 piano concertos, the first of which he recorded. The majority of his music was composed for the piano. These include 50 transcriptions of works by composers as diverse as Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
, Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was an Italian Renaissance composer of sacred music and the best-known 16th-century representative of the Roman School of musical composition...
, Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
, Satie
Erik Satie
Éric Alfred Leslie Satie was a French composer and pianist. Satie was a colourful figure in the early 20th century Parisian avant-garde...
and Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
. He also made piano arrangements of songs by Cole Porter
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
, Jerome Kern
Jerome Kern
Jerome David Kern was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A...
and George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
. He also wrote sonatas for violin, flute and cello, all unaccompanied. A planned symphony based on the works of Herman Melville
Herman Melville
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick and the posthumous novella Billy Budd....
, and a comic opera, were left unfinished. The original manuscripts of many of John Ogdon's compositions now reside at the Royal Northern College of Music Library Catalogue.
The breakdown
Ogdon's health was good, and his physical constitution was strong as his wife often recalled in her Biography. A gentle giant, known and loved for his kindness and generosity, he found it hard to say no and was pushed beyond his strength. In 1973 he experienced a severe breakdown. This sometimes changed his gentle giant personality completely. His illness was diagnosed initially as possibly schizophreniaSchizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
but then changed to manic depression (either was possibly inherited from his father, who committed suicide). Ogdon spent some time in the Maudsley Hospital
Maudsley Hospital
The Maudsley Hospital is a British psychiatric hospital in South London. The Maudsley is the largest mental health training institution in the country...
in London, and in general needed more nursing than it was possible to provide while touring. Nevertheless, he was reported to maintain three hours' practice a day on the hospital's piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
.
In 1983, after emerging from hospital, he played at the opening of the Royal Concert Hall
Nottingham Royal Concert Hall
The Royal Concert Hall in the English city of Nottingham, is part of the city's Royal Centre, which also incorporates the Victorian Theatre Royal...
in Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
. In 1988 he released a five-disc recording of an interpretation of Sorabji
Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji
Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji was an English composer, music critic, pianist, and writer.-Biography:...
's Opus clavicembalisticum
Opus Clavicembalisticum
Opus clavicembalisticum is a solo piano piece composed by Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji, completed on June 26, 1930.The piece is notable for its length and difficulty: at the time of its completion it was the longest piano piece in existence. Its duration is around four hours, depending on tempo...
, shortly before he died in August 1989 of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
, brought on by undiagnosed diabetes.
The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
made a film about his life titled Virtuoso, based on his biography written by Brenda Lucas Ogdon. John Ogdon was played by Alfred Molina
Alfred Molina
Alfred Molina is a British-born American actor. He first came to public attention in the UK for his supporting role in the 1987 film Prick Up Your Ears...
, who won a Best Actor award from the Royal Television Society
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
for his performance. This production suggested Ogdon's illness was manic depression rather than schizophrenia as he responded to the former treatment better. Brenda Ogdon also recalled being informed that his obsessive music work could be a symptom of the former condition.
Books on John Ogdon
His wife wrote a biography of her life with him in 1981, and then updated it in a second edition in 1989 shortly before his death. Currently another is planned by a different author.Discography
A reasonably comprehensive discography can be found on the website of theJohn Ogdon Foundation reproduced from The Gramophone Spring 1998 edition as
compiled by Michael Glover. However, a small number of other recordings have since come to light as listed below.
- Ludwig van BeethovenLudwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
- Piano Sonata No.32 in C minor, Op.111
- Recorded in the BBC studios, London, 5 November 1963
- Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No.5 in Eb major, Op.73
- Recorded with the BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra and Jascha Horenstein
- 32 Variations on an original theme in C minor, WoO 80
- Piano Sonata No.32 in C minor, Op.111
- Johannes BrahmsJohannes BrahmsJohannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
- Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No.2 in Bb major, Op.83
- Recorded in the BBC Studios, Manchester, 16 September 1966 with the Halle Orchestra and Sir John Barbirolli
- Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No.2 in Bb major, Op.83
- Percy GraingerPercy GraingerGeorge Percy Aldridge Grainger , known as Percy Grainger, was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist. In the course of a long and innovative career he played a prominent role in the revival of interest in British folk music in the early years of the 20th century. He also made many...
- Transcription of Lullaby from Tribute to Foster
- Recorded at the 1966 Aldeburgh Festival
- Shepherd's Hay
- Recorded at the 1966 Aldeburgh Festival
- Zanzibar Boat Song
- Recorded at the 1966 Aldeburgh Festival with Benjamin Britten and Viola Tunnard
- Transcription of Lullaby from Tribute to Foster
- Alun HoddinottAlun HoddinottAlun Hoddinott CBE , was a Welsh composer of classical music, one of the first to receive international recognition.-Life and works:...
- Sonata No.3, Op.40
- Recorded at the 23rd Cheltenham Festival
- Sonata No.3, Op.40
- Franz LisztFranz LisztFranz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
- Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No.1 in Eb major, S124
- Recorded in the Colston Hall, Bristol, 20 September 1967
- Mephisto Waltz No.1 (Der Tanz in der Dorfschenke), S514
- Recorded in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, 24 April 1969
- Grande Fantaisie de bravoure sur La Clochette (La campanella) de Paganini, S420
- Recorded in the BBC studios, London, 20 January 1970
- Etude d'execution transcendante S139 No.11 (Harmonies du soir)
- Recorded in the BBC studios, London, 20 January 1970
- Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No.1 in Eb major, S124
- Tilo Medek
- 'Battaglia alla Turca' for two pianos, from Mozart's Rondo alla Turca
- Recorded live in London in 1974 with John Lill
- 'Battaglia alla Turca' for two pianos, from Mozart's Rondo alla Turca
- Nikolai MedtnerNikolai MedtnerNikolai Karlovich Medtner was a Russian composer and pianist.A younger contemporary of Sergei Rachmaninoff and Alexander Scriabin, he wrote a substantial number of compositions, all of which include the piano...
- Piano Sonata in C minor, Op.25 No.1 (Fairy Tale)
- Recorded in 1971 for the BBC
- Piano Sonata in E minor, Op.25 No.2 (Night Wind)
- Recorded in 1972?
- Piano Sonata in C minor, Op.25 No.1 (Fairy Tale)
- Franz SchubertFranz SchubertFranz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
- Piano Sonata in C minor, D958
- Recorded in 1972 for the BBC
- Piano Sonata in C minor, D958
- Dmitri ShostakovichDmitri ShostakovichDmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
- Piano Sonata No.2 in B minor, Op.61
- Recorded in 1971 for the BBC
- Piano Sonata No.2 in B minor, Op.61
- Igor StravinskyIgor StravinskyIgor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
- Sonata for two pianos (1943/1944)
- Recorded at the 23rd Cheltenham Festival with Brenda Lucas
- Concerto for two solo pianos (1935)
- Recorded at the 23rd Cheltenham Festival with Brenda Lucas
- Sonata for two pianos (1943/1944)
Recordings
- Ferruccio BusoniFerruccio BusoniFerruccio Busoni was an Italian composer, pianist, editor, writer, piano and composition teacher, and conductor.-Biography:...
: Fantasia contrappuntisticaFantasia ContrappuntisticaFantasia contrappuntistica is a solo piano piece composed by Ferruccio Busoni in 1910. Busoni created several versions of the work including several for solo piano, and one for two pianos. It has been arranged for organ and for orchestra since the composer's death.The work is in large part a...
, Fantasia nach J. S. Bach, and Toccata. Altarus AIR-CD-9074 - Ferruccio Busoni: Piano ConcertoPiano Concerto (Busoni)The Piano Concerto in C major, Op. 39 , by Ferruccio Busoni, is one of the largest works ever written in this particular genre. The concerto is in five movements, the last of which also utilizes a male chorus singing words from the final scene of the verse drama Aladdin by Adam Oehlenschläger.The...
(with the Royal Philharmonic OrchestraRoyal Philharmonic OrchestraThe Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It tours widely, and is sometimes referred to as "Britain's national orchestra"...
; Daniell RevenaughDaniell RevenaughDaniell Revenaugh is an American classical pianist and conductor. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, he made his debut at the age of 14 playing Beethoven's First Piano Concerto with the Louisville Orchestra....
, conductor). EMI Classics 94637246726 - Kaikhosru SorabjiKaikhosru Shapurji SorabjiKaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji was an English composer, music critic, pianist, and writer.-Biography:...
: Opus clavicembalisticumOpus ClavicembalisticumOpus clavicembalisticum is a solo piano piece composed by Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji, completed on June 26, 1930.The piece is notable for its length and difficulty: at the time of its completion it was the longest piano piece in existence. Its duration is around four hours, depending on tempo...
. Altarus AIR-CD9075
External links
- The John Ogdon Foundation
- [ allmusic.com biography]
- Virtuoso biographical programme on Ogdon's life on IMDb