I was there. I believe it was a matinee concert. It was just superb. John Ogdon in his prime (1969) had everything you could want in a pianist. He had a beautiful tone, never harsh, but he could produce torrents of sound. I've never heard this score better. And Stokowski was right there with him. He wanted to record it with John but that never came to pass. It's hard to imagine it, or anything, surpassing this live performance.
What a performance, throwing caution to the wind in the last movt his technique and genius really comes out. An amazing player who’s career was sadly cut far to short by illness and being overworked in his younger days.
Simply magnificent. He has a wonderful sonority for Brahms and that absolute simultaneity of notes which few pianists can equal. What superb control of rhythm in the service of profound expression! A pianist’s pianist with a wonderful partner in Stowkowsky, who had such a way of coaxing deep sonority out of an orchestra
Ogdon The greatest? Come on! The greatest pianists of All Time Are really Artur Rubinstein ( The God) Grigory Sokolov ( The Titan The Giant of The piano) Emil Gilels ( The King) Radu Lupu ( Brahms piano concerto no 1 with The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra video UA-cam! Lupu a class of his own playing Brahms piano concerto no 1!) Sviatoslav Richter Wilhelm Kempff Maurizio Pollini Vladimir Ashkenazy Alexei Lubimov Stanislav Igolinsky ( better than Lipatti) Mikhail Pletnev ( The most Powerful Prokoviev piano concerto no 1) Solomon Cutner Maria Grinberg Natalia Trull
The misty string sound in the 2nd movement is the only obvious Stoky touch. He accompanies Ogden beautifully. Soloist and conductor are a single unit. Ogden is sublime. Such a clean transparent piano sound. As always this concerto ends after the second movement for me.
I'm intrugued . Could you expand in this. Thank you. Could you let us know at what points you hear the pedestrianism and mechanical playing to which your refer.
@ As you like it. Great Britain has several true great pianists: Hess, Curzon, Solomon, even Lympany....In the case of Ogdon nothing draws more attention than his alarming lack of musicality: a vacuous and tasteless virtuoso.
I was there. I believe it was a matinee concert. It was just superb. John Ogdon in his prime (1969) had everything you could want in a pianist. He had a beautiful tone, never harsh, but he could produce torrents of sound. I've never heard this score better. And Stokowski was right there with him. He wanted to record it with John but that never came to pass. It's hard to imagine it, or anything, surpassing this live performance.
What a performance, throwing caution to the wind in the last movt his technique and genius really comes out. An amazing player who’s career was sadly cut far to short by illness and being overworked in his younger days.
Simply magnificent. He has a wonderful sonority for Brahms and that absolute simultaneity of notes which few pianists can equal. What superb control of rhythm in the service of profound expression! A pianist’s pianist with a wonderful partner in Stowkowsky, who had such a way of coaxing deep sonority out of an orchestra
Had, sadly.
As ever the masterful Stokowski, he was simply unique!
Geez! What about Ogdon? And Stoki, or any conductor, is no better than the musicians with which he has to work. What about them? Geez!
Individual musicians are useless without someone to provide an overarching vision. Orchestras sound like their conductors.
I love Ogdon's playing so much in this recording.
So do I. Hard to believe it is almost 30 years since his untimely demise. A pianist for all times I always think.
Ogdon The greatest? Come on! The greatest pianists of All Time Are really Artur Rubinstein ( The God) Grigory Sokolov ( The Titan The Giant of The piano) Emil Gilels ( The King) Radu Lupu ( Brahms piano concerto no 1 with The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra video UA-cam! Lupu a class of his own playing Brahms piano concerto no 1!) Sviatoslav Richter Wilhelm Kempff Maurizio Pollini Vladimir Ashkenazy Alexei Lubimov Stanislav Igolinsky ( better than Lipatti) Mikhail Pletnev ( The most Powerful Prokoviev piano concerto no 1) Solomon Cutner Maria Grinberg Natalia Trull
Impressive!
The misty string sound in the 2nd movement is the only obvious Stoky touch. He accompanies Ogden beautifully. Soloist and conductor are a single unit. Ogden is sublime. Such a clean transparent piano sound. As always this concerto ends after the second movement for me.
Mechanical, pedestrian Ogdon: one of those false Anglo-Saxon myths
I'm intrugued . Could you expand in this. Thank you. Could you let us know at what points you hear the pedestrianism and mechanical playing to which your refer.
You obviously haven't heard it.
@ As you like it. Great Britain has several true great pianists: Hess, Curzon, Solomon, even Lympany....In the case of Ogdon nothing draws more attention than his alarming lack of musicality: a vacuous and tasteless virtuoso.