‘Mr. Ogden proved a polished soloist in colorful, technically demanding works.’
New York Times
CRAIG OGDEN guitar
Described by BBC Music Magazine as ‘A worthy successor to Julian Bream’, the 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. In 2004, he became the youngest instrumentalist to receive a Fellowship Award from the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. He has performed concertos with many of the world’s leading orchestras and numerous composers have written works specially for him. In 2017, he gave the world première of Andy Scott’s Guitar Concerto with the Northern Chamber Orchestra, followed by the Australian première in Perth. In the summer of 2019, he gave the world première of Il Filo with Miloš Milivojević, a double concerto for guitar and accordion by David Gordon. Craig gave the world première of a concerto written for him by David Knotts in March 2022 at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London with the BBC Concert Orchestra which was recorded for BBC Radio 3 and filmed for BBC4 TV and available on BBC iPlayer. In July 2022, Craig gave the world première of Isolation Songs (Without Words) a new guitar concerto written for him by William Lovelady with the English Chamber Orchestra for Music in Country Churches with HM the King in attendance. The work received its London premiere in November 2022 at Cadogan Hall. In January 2023, Craig gave the world première of a guitar concerto by Greg Caffrey with the Ulster Orchestra in Belfast, recorded by BBC3.
Craig Ogden is the most sought-after guitarist for chamber music in the UK performing with artists including the Carducci Quartet, Miloš Milivojević (accordion), Paul Edmund-Davies (flute) and the London Tango Quintet, of which he is a regular member. Craig also performs a new arrangement written for him of the Goldberg Variations by J.S. Bach with violinist David Juritz and cellists Tim Hugh and Adrian Bradbury. Craig gave a recital with tenor James Gilchrist at the Edinburgh Festival which was broadcast live on BBC Radio 3, performed in the concert series devoted to Sir Michael Tippett at the Wigmore Hall and has given several concerts at the Australian Festival of Chamber Music. Craig was invited to be Visiting Musician at Oriel College, University of Oxford for two years. One of the UK’s most recorded guitarists, he has accumulated an acclaimed discography for Chandos, Virgin/EMI, Nimbus, Hyperion, Sony and six chart-topping albums for Classic FM. His most recent recordings are a solo recital disc for Chandos, Craig Ogden in Concert and a new arrangement of the Goldberg Variations by J.S. Bach with violinist David Juritz and cellist Tim Hugh for Nimbus Records. He frequently records for film and has presented programmes for BBC Radio 3, BBC Northern Ireland, and ABC Classic FM in Australia.
Craig Ogden is Director of Guitar at the Royal Northern College of Music, Adjunct Fellow of the University of Western Australia, Associate Artist at The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester and Director of the Dean & Chadlington Summer Music Festival. Craig Ogden plays a 2011 Greg Smallman guitar and strings made by D’Addario.
Who we are
The London Tango Quintet brings together five outstanding musicians to play the music of Piazzolla, Troilo and other giants of Argentinian tango.
Formed in 2007 by violinist, David Juritz, the quintet has made numerous appearances in music festivals and concert halls around the UK. With five acclaimed soloists as its members, the London Tango Quintet doesn’t limit itself to tango but includes a wide range of music, from the baroque to contemporary in its programmes.
