John Ogdon plays Nielsen

My friend Maready at Avant que j'oublie just posted an unusual, but vital, offering of John Ogdon performing Messiaen and I happened to have this disc of Nielsen transferred from a while back. What a pleasant coincidence, don't you think?

Ogdon was one of the most gifted and brilliant pianists of the 20th century along with being one of the most highly erratic and unpredictable ones too. At his finest, his interpretations were probing, highly intellectual and magnificently crafted; the other side of the coin featured pedestrian, mannered and bored accounts that left the listener scratching his or her head, "why?"

Fortunately here, Ogdon is magnificent. No less then Robert Simpson exalted Ogdon's renderings of these works as being at the highest level. Though we do not think of Nielsen as a writer for the piano, in Ogdon's hands, a strong case is made for Nielsen as the composer for solo instrument. It's fine fare and much too bad that others have not made works such as Symphonic Suite a part of their repertoire.

I hope that you find enjoyment in this lp and Maready's Messiaen offering. Marvelous remembrances of an artist who had the ability to make neglected, or obscure, music come to life with dazzling results.

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Igor Markevitch conducts Nielsen's Symphony No. 4 "The Inextinguishable"

For the next couple posts, I'm going to be focusing on Scandinavian composers and performers. First up is this really fine performance of Nielsen's "Inextinguishable"symphony by the great Igor Markevitch with the Royal Danish Orchestra. I have to admit that Nielsen has never been one of my favorite composers; I really do not know why other then I've always had a difficult time focusing on his melodies and how he develops his ideas. Only wo conductors have  been convincing me that Nielsen is a very great composer: Ole Schmidt and Igor Markevitch.

This performance simply grabs my attention from the onset and does not let go. I feel that Markevitch has this second tier orchestra playing on the edge of their seats and his control here is awesome. In this conductor's hands, this symphony is allowed to make its very bold statement as a true masterpiece of the genre.

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