IT'S ALWYN, ALL RIGHT
Melvyn M. Sobel | Freeport (Long Island), New York | 12/27/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"It's nice to see that Ogdon's recording of Alwyn's inventive, whimsical and quirky piano music is back in circulation. Particularly entertaining are the "Fantasy-Waltzes," whose tone and direction are most definitely twentieth century, but whose winks and nods surely go to Lizst, Chopin and Schubert, however disguised. The 12 Preludes are tougher nuts to crack, the language a bit less subtle, the modernism a tad more acute. However, Ogdon has the full measure of each and plays them with authority and panache. (The recording sessions, it should be noted, were attended by Alwyn, himself; obviously, he enjoyed what he heard.) The sound (at Maltings, Snape) is first-rate: full, warm, dynamically-charged. For those of you who enjoy the piano music of such British composers as Frank Bridge, Lennox Berkeley or Arnold Bax, this CD is most definitely worth a listen.
[Running time: 58:02]"