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Tippett: The Blue Guitar and other 20th Century Guitar Classics
Craig Ogden Nimbus NI5390
Nimbus CD review (excerpts)
Classical Guitar Magazine August 1996
Michael Tippett The Blue Guitar
The opening Tippett immediately reveals Craig Ogden as a most persuasive performer. The first movement displays an intensity and powerful tone that is characteristic of the whole disc, a sense of absolute commitment to the music.
Benjamin Britten Nocturnal after Dowland Op.70
…he realises the character of each section superbly, with an obviously fine imagination perfectly realised in technical craft. This is the craft of both mastering all technical difficulty and also fine tuning nuance through very careful attention to detail of what the hands are doing 100% of the time. I’d really like to be able to do what he’s doing here.
Richard Rodney Bennett Five Impromptus
Ogden brings out the best of this succinct music, whose compression of expression is nevertheless given plenty of breathing space here - in other words, the shaping all make sense, with tone and dynamics spot-on, so it’s a pleasure to listen to.
William Walton Five Bagatelles
Ogden’s playing oozes class, but always at the service of the music. He really does seem to me to be absolutely one of the very best of the new generation of guitarists, a real musician of style. The Bagatelles (William Walton) are known to contain their technical difficulties, yet listening to this player you’d never think it.
Lennox Berkeley Sonatina Op.52 no.1
The breezy opening allegretto is here full of dash, and it retains a modern flavour in spite of its 1957 vintage. In the lento Ogden’s playing exhibits a rich dark tone which completely avoids any temptation towards the sentimental; in fact, I know there could be no such temptation for this sort of player. The allegretto non troppo conclusion is perfectly judged, everything held back for the piu vivo and burst of rasguedo chords at the end, fine playing indeed.
In Summary
This recording is one of the very best I’ve encountered for a long time, and based upon what I hear I do commend Craig Ogden to you as a player of the highest calibre. Not yet having heard him live in concert, I am now eager to do so. This disc is an imperative purchase for anyone interested in top quality guitar music played at the level it deserves.
Chris Kilvington