Liszt: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2; Mephisto Waltz; Fantasy on La Clochette; Transcendental Study No.

The sad, tragic story of John Ogdon's life is a known tale but his interpretative prowess lives on in his magnificent musical interpretations of the most difficult music. Liszt's Concertos for Piano are both barnstormers and here they receive the full Ogdon treatment, both permeated with astonishing virtuosity. The accompaniments by Constantin Silvestri and Sir Colin Davis are models of exemplary communication and the BBC recordings are astonishingly vivid for their day, especially the Bournemouth one. The solo pieces rae no less exhilarating especially the magnificent 'Clochette' Fantasy, truly superb on all counts. I also enjoyed Ogdon's vivid and demonic interpretation of the Mephisto Waltz which is fairly brimful with outlandish and excruciating virtuosity. The recordings have come up pretty well for their age and this is another superb testament to John Ogdon, the superhero pianist who lives on in the greatness of music. Copyright © 2002, Gerald Fenech