|
The Engliag pianist, Brenda Lucas Ogdon, was awarded in 1949 the Gold Medal from the Associated Board for the highest marks in any Practical subject throughout the British Isles, Northern Ireland and Eire for Grade VII Piano. She went on to graduate with Honours from the Royal Northern College of Music in 1957. John Ogdon was a Student at the College at the same time and John Ogdon and Brenda Lucas were married in 1960.
Brenda Lucas Ogdon embarked on a Solo career making her first appearance with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of 21 and giving Solo Recitals for the BBC from the Manchester Studio. She also gave a Solo Recital at the Wigmore Hall during the early sixties. John Ogdon and Brenda performed as a Duo partnership and were invited to play at several major Festivals i.e. Edinburgh (1962/1963), Cheltenham, Aldeburgh, Sintra to name but a few.
Brenda Lucas Ogdon has appeared with the following orchestras: London Symphony Orchestra; BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra; Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra; Minnesota Orchestra; Dartmouth College, USA; Houston Symphony Orchestra; Northern Sinfonia; Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields; London Philharmonic Orchestra; all Principal Orchestras in Australia.
In 1985 Brenda Lucas Ogdon and John Ogdon toured in the Soviet Union, giving Duo Recitals in Moscow, Leningrad and Kiev. The Moscow Recital was part of the Russian “Winter Nights” Festival. In addition to performing with the above American Orchestras, she has played in Dallas, Texas; Jackson Hole, Wyoming; Indiana University and Colby College, Maine. In 1996 she gave recitals in Hong Kong and broadcast for RTHK.
In 1993 Brenda Lucas Ogdon founded the John Ogdon Foundation - a Charity dedicated to the preservation of John Ogdon's memory. In 1997 she appeared on the South Bank at a Gala Concert for John Ogdon's 60th Birthday and again at yet another Gala in Q.E.H. in 1999 with three other international pianists. In 2003 she gave a Recital in Maine, USA to an ecstatic review from the critic - she planned to return to the USA later in 2005 for more recitals.
Brenda Lucas Ogdon also finds time to teach and is a Member of the I.S.M.
Records are available by John Ogdon and Brenda Lucas on EMI Classics; Universal Music; a CD of John Ogdon Compositions performed by Brenda Lucas Ogdon was issued by the John Ogdon Foundation in 2005. In 2014 the BBC produced a Documentary film “Living with Genius” broadcast on BBC Channel 4 in June 2014. This was a film about Britain’s greatest ever classical pianist and one of the most succesful musical partnerships of the last 50 years, that of John Ogdon and Brenda Lucas. It is a profile of their lives together, one that covers their roller coaster ride from extraordinary and deserved success to tragic adversity and despair. It can be seen on YouTube today. |
