Search - Liszt, Ogdon :: Annes De Pelerinage / En Reve

The ideal Ogdon souvenir

Michael Whincop | GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY, QLD AUSTRALIA | 10/16/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"John Ogdon is one of music's tragic figures, another of the many talented pianists whose nervous and mental illnesses deprived us of a great talent. This disk is recorded prior to Ogdon's unhappy decline, back in the days when he was tearing through the repetoire with massive enthusiasm. It is an excellent survey of his Liszt. Although it is duplicated partially in his second GPE volume on Philips, this is the better disk to buy, although of course it is more expensive.The best thing about the program is its ideal combination of Liszt's virtuoso music with the dark works of his old age. The opening Dante Sonata is an expansive, detailed vision, far superior in execution to the live performance on the GPE disk. The Liebstraume is warm and affectionate, without being too soppy. Trauer, infrequently recorded, burns with scalding intensity. It is followed by the Simon Boccanegra paraphrase. Very different to the paraphrases of his youth, the work has a dark-hued, private aura. Ogdon's performance is a benchmark in late Liszt interpretation. The following studies glitter and shine exactly as they should, leaving the close to a solemn but never lachrymose Funérailles, and a dancing Mephisto Waltz.The sound is good for its period."