JOHN OGDON Messiaen: Vingt Regards Sur L'Enfant-Jésus (1969 UK double LP box set featuring a solo piano performance of yet another important work by Messiaen, widely considered to be one of the most difficult compositions ever written for piano, in thatit steers away from the safe and cosy realm of the Concerto into a more expressive nature where the entire scope of an Orchestra is channelled through a solitary piano keyboard. Needless to say, it takes a virtuoso pianist to deliver this piece to the full and John Ogdon does not dissappoint here, commanding the full range of the music’s technical and intellectual virtuosity as well as its breathtaking pianissimo. The box also incudes a rather strange hard bound single leaf insert that explores the piece and privides limited stave for some of the key passages. There was a lot of care taken with this release & it shows. The box shows just a little shelfwear & a bit of edge scuffing, with the vinyl remainng near 'as new' & showing few signs of play ZRG6504)