John Ogdon
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John Andrew Howard Ogdon (January 27, 1937–August 1, 1989) was an English pianist and composer.
Ogdon was born in Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire, and attended Manchester Grammar School, before studying at the Royal Manchester College of Music (the predecessor of the Royal Northern College of Music) between 1953 and 1957. His tutor there was Claud Biggs. As a boy he had studied with Iso Elinson and after leaving college, he further studied with Gordon Green, Denis Matthews, Dame Myra Hess, and Egon Petri — the latter in Basle, Switzerland.
He won first prize at the London Liszt Competition in 1961 and consolidated his growing international reputation by winning another first prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1962, jointly with Vladimir Ashkenazy.
John Ogdon was able to play most pieces at sight and had committed a huge range of pieces to memory. He enjoyed stretching his vast talents to their limit and attempted such monumental tasks as a complete recording of Rachmaninov's works for piano, which was released in 2001. He recorded all ten Scriabin sonatas early in his career. In more familiar repertoire, he revealed deep musical sensibilities, always buttressed by a colossal technique.
His own compositions include piano works, chamber music, a string quartet and a piano concerto. A planned symphony based on the works of Herman Melville and a comic opera were left unfinished.
Ogdon's health was never good, and his physical constitution was not strong enough to carry the burden of his enormous talent. A gentle giant, known and loved for his kindness and generosity, he found it hard to say no and was pushed beyond his strength. He experienced a severe breakdown. His illness was never fully diagnosed, but was thought to be schizophrenia (possibly inherited from his father) or manic depression. Ogdon spent some time in hospital and in general needed more nursing than it was possible to provide while touring.
In 1983, after emerging from hospital, he played at the opening of the Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham. In 1988 he released a five-disc recording of an interpretation of Sorabji's Opus Clavicembalisticum, shortly before he died of pneumonia, brought on by undiagnosed diabetes.
The BBC made a film about his life titled Virtuoso, based on his biography, written by his wife and fellow-pianist, Brenda Lucas Ogdon. John Ogdon was played by Alfred Molina, who won a Best Actor award from the Royal Television Society for his performance.
