Although Ravel (1875-1937) was a pianist, and composed his keyboard pieces with a sure knowledge of the instrument and what it was capable of, he...

Although Ravel (1875-1937) was a pianist, and composed his keyboard pieces with a sure knowledge of the instrument and what it was capable of, he lacked the technique of the likes of, for instance, Chopin, Liszt or Rachmaninov as an outright composer-pianist. Because of this, Ravel’s piano works were not written as vehicles to demonstrate pianistic virtuosity as a goal in itself, even if some of them, such as Gaspard de la Nuit, present enormous challenges for the prospective performer. Enter acclaimed soloist Brenda Lucas Ogdon, more than up to those challenges!

"The album marks only the most recent chapter of Brenda’s rich musical history. Having been awarded the Gold Medal from the Associated Board...Brenda has since gone on to perform amongst the London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Scottish Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and across the US, Australia, the Soviet Union, Hong Kong, and more. Ogdon has announced that her royalties from the album will be donated to Shelter, the UK homeless charity. This act follows in the spirit of the artist’s previous charity work." -The Cross-Eyed Pianist