Craig Ogden - Guitar
Australian born guitarist Craig Ogden is one of the most exciting artists of his generation. He studied guitar from the age of seven and percussion from the age of thirteen. His music degree (with honours) from the University of Western Australia was followed by the Royal Northern College of Music Professional Performance Diploma with Distinction, the RNCM's highest award for performance. In December 2004 Craig Ogden was honoured by the RNCM with a Fellowship in recognition of his achievements, the youngest instrumentalist to have received this award. Performances this season include concertos with the City of London Sinfonia, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra and English Symphony Orchestra, tours of Australia and South Africa, further recordings, broadcasts for the BBC and a busy schedule of recitals throughout the UK and abroad.
One of the new generation’s most prominent players, Craig Ogden’s performances have taken him throughout the UK, into Europe, the USA, South East Asia, South Africa and Australia in recital, for radio and on television. His recordings for Virgin/EMI, Chandos, Nimbus, Hyperion, Naxos and Sony have received considerable praise. BBC Music Magazine dubbed Ogden "a worthy successor to Julian Bream" and his debut solo CD for Nimbus Records of 20th Century Classics by British composers was nominated for a Grammy Award. Ogden’s Virgin/EMI release, ‘A Quiet Thing’ with counter-tenor David Daniels received universal acclaim as did the duo’s USA recital tour of the Tanglewood, Ravinia and Mostly Mozart Festivals after which Ogden was immediately re-invited to perform as soloist in the New York Lincoln Centre’s Great Performers Series.
Craig Ogden has released seven CDs on the Chandos label. His recording of all three solo Rodrigo guitar concertos with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra was greeted with wide acclaim and recently selected as The One To Own in Classic FM magazine against distinguished competition including John Williams and Julian Bream. Classic CD concluded this recording to be “one of the most winning performances I have encountered” whilst Rodrigo’s daughter wrote: “This recording has confirmed your position among the greatest guitarists”. Ogden’s CD, Music from the Novels of Louis de Bernières featured as high as no.10 in the classical charts and was the London Daily Telegraph CD of the week, stating “this disc is pure joy”. Selling over 10,000 discs in three months it is Chandos Records fastest ever selling CD and Ogden now performs regularly with Louis de Bernières in ‘words and music’ recitals. Of Ogden’s recording of concertos by Walton, Arnold and Berkeley with Richard Hickox and the Northern Sinfonia, Gramophone Magazine wrote “All the works in this delightful collection were inspired by Julian Bream, with Craig Ogden proving a formidable successor, matching in sensitivity and flair Bream’s own vintage recordings” whilst The Guardian hailed Ogden as “Brilliant and persuasive”. Ogden’s most recent solo recording is a CD of premiere recordings of the solo guitar music by British composer Paul Coles on the Nimbus label.
Craig Ogden made his Royal Albert Hall debut with the Philharmonia Orchestra performing Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez in a Classic FM Live concert. He has also performed concertos with the London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra (with Vladimir Ashkenazy), Accademia di Santa Cecilia (Rome), Hallé, BBC Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony, Royal Scottish National, Bournemouth Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Northern Sinfonia, Britten Sinfonia, Riga Kammermusika, St. Petersburg Festival Orchestra, English Chamber, English Symphony, English Sinfonia, Ulster Orchestra, London Concert Orchestra, Manchester Camerata, National Orchestra of South Africa, Lund Symphony Orchestra (Sweden), Tasmanian Symphony, West Australian Symphony and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras.
Craig Ogden regularly appears as soloist and chamber musician at the major London venues including the Purcell Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Wigmore Hall and the Barbican. He has also performed at most of the main UK festivals and is the most sought after guitarist for chamber music in the UK performing with the Brodsky Quartet, London Tango Quintet, tenors Mark Padmore and Ian Bostridge, Claire Bradshaw (mezzo-soprano), Paul Tanner (percussion), Gerard McChrystal (saxophone), Alison Stephens (mandolin) and Judith Hall (flute). Craig also frequently records for film and was featured on the British hit, Notting Hill. Ogden’s world premiere performances include a concerto written for him by Gerard Brophy with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Sun Trap (for solo guitar) by Jonathan Cole commissioned by the Britten Festival, The Hinchinbrook Riffs (for solo guitar and digital delay) by Nigel Westlake and an Alec Roth song cycle for the Chester Festival. He has also given UK premieres of guitar concertos by John Corigliano (USA) and Aaron Jay Kernis (USA). In July ’08 Craig Ogden premiered a new solo work by Mark Anthony Turnage at the 2008 Cheltenham Festival which was also broadcast on BBC Radio 3. In his first foray into presenting, Ogden travelled to Spain with writer Louis de Bernières to make a programme on Segovia for BBC Radio 3 which was broadcast in February 2008.
Craig Ogden is married to British opera singer Claire Bradshaw with whom
he frequently appears in concert. The duo has toured Australia and South
Africa and perform regularly in festivals, for music societies and on radio
in the UK. Craig Ogden is Principal Lecturer in Guitar at the Royal Northern
College of Music in Manchester.
March 2009