Reflections on a People's Pianist

[Elie FM]

I am wondering about the possibility of including on the foundation site articles written by people who had some fond connection or memory of John Ogdon - a sharing of memories and reflections by as wide a range of people as possible. John Ogdon was after all a people's pianist, being a household name for all his musical achievements, and also, a source of inspiration for people who have some connection with mental health problems. I used to run music groups in a day centre for mental health - I remember playing recordings of John Ogdon to the clients there and the fact that these people could also appreciate the suffering that John went through, made his playing all the more meaningful to them. Through both his triumphs and struggles he endeared himself to people who had no other particular involvement or connection with classical music.

I would also like his own compositions to become more easily available - over the years they have constantly gone in and out of print and I suppose it all comes down to selling and demand. I am lucky enough to own some of his piano works, but I obtained those when I knew him. John himself took his composing very seriously and he would be very happy to see them being played and appreciated more frequently.

[Metronome]

This is an editorial posting from webmaster Metronome.

A number of e-mails like the one above from Elie FM have trickled in since johnogdon.org.uk was revamped in January 2007, possibly due also to renewed interest in John Ogdon's 70th anniversary events on the radio and elsewhere.

I set up this Discussion Forum as a place to air such comments, as it makes sense to share them with a wider audience. Unfortunately it is not possible to answer all the e-mails that the Foundation receives.

Please do contribute to this Forum and suggest other ways to improve the site.