J. S. Bach arr. Juritz
Goldberg Variations, BWV 988

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. One of the UK’s most recorded guitarists, his recordings for Virgin/EMI, Chandos, Nimbus, Hyperion, Sony and Classic FM have received wide acclaim. Craig Ogden has performed concertos with many of the world’s leading orchestras including the Hallé, BBC Concert Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra, RTÉ Concert Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, Spanish Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of Opera North, Royal Northern Sinfonia and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. Numerous composers have written works for him and in 2017 Craig gave the world premiere of Andy Scott’s guitar concerto with the Northern Chamber Orchestra followed by the Australian premiere in Perth. He gave the world premiere of ‘Il Filo’, a double concerto for guitar and accordion by David Gordon with Miloš Milivojević in Summer 2019 and will be giving the world premiere of a concerto by David Knotts with the BBC Concert Orchestra, recorded by BBC Radio 3. Craig regularly appears as soloist and chamber musician at major venues, collaborating with many of the UK’s top artists and ensembles such as the Nash Ensemble, Carducci Quartet and the London Tango Quintet, of which he is a regular member. He performed in the Michael Tippett concert series at the Wigmore Hall and gave several concerts at the Australian Chamber Music Festival. Craig frequently records for film and has presented programmes for BBC Radio 3, BBC Northern Ireland and ABC Classic FM (Australia). Craig Ogden is Director of Guitar at the Royal Northern College of Music, Adjunct Fellow of the University of Western Australia, Associate Artist and Curator of Craig Ogden’s Guitar Weekend at The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester and Visiting Musician at Oriel College, University of Oxford. Craig Ogden plays a 2011 Greg Smallman guitar and strings made by D’Addario.

David Juritz was born in Cape Town, South Africa, and began playing the violin at the age of five. He was awarded an Associated Board Scholarship to the Royal College of Music where he won the RCM’s top award, the Tagore Gold Medal.

On leaving the RCM, he joined English Chamber Orchestra before being appointed leader of the London Mozart Players, a position he held until 2010. He made many appearances as soloist and director with the LMP, including his debut at the 2006 BBC Promenade Concerts.

In October 2019, he was invited to direct the English Chamber Orchestra at their debut in the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. Other performances have included appearances as soloist and director at the Tonhalle in Zurich, performances of the Beethoven and Brahms violin concertos in Tokyo, the Tchaikovsky concerto with the London Concert Orchestra at the Barbican, solos with the English Chamber and City of Birmingham orchestras, and the world premiere of Tales from South America, a tango concerto written for him by Cecilia McDowall.

In 2018, together with his regular duo partner, pianist Sarah Beth Briggs and conductor/cellist Ken Woods, he formed the Briggs Trio. Their debut recording of piano trios by Hans Gal and Dmitri Shostakovich (for the Avie label) received glowing reviews on both sides of the Atlantic. His many other recordings include Vivaldi Four Seasons, re-released by Nimbus Alliance in 2012, and hailed by critics as one of the finest interpretations of that much-recorded work. David has also recorded  Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Solo and his transcription of Bach’s Goldberg Variations for violin, guitar and cello was released by Nimbus in April 2021.

In 2005, David took on the role of Director of the Burton Bradstock Festival in Dorset, where he presents unique programmes to capacity audiences and has developed a real musical community. During a five-month sabbatical in 2007, David busked around the world. On the 60,000 mile journey through 50 cities in 24 countries on six continents, he paid for the

entire journey with his busking earnings by playing Bach on the streets. He formed the charity Musequality and used the trip to raise funds for music education projects for disadvantaged children in developing countries. He remains deeply committed to encouraging young musicians in the developing world, working in Kurdistan with young musicians from the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq and students at Xiquitsi in Maputo, Mozambique.

David is in demand as a chamber music artist and performs regularly with the London Tango Quintet, London Tango Trio, Craig Ogden (guitar), Miloš Milivojević (accordion), Sarah Beth Briggs (piano) and the Soloists of London. He is also a prolific arranger and has arranged many substantial works for a wide variety of instrumental combinations, including music by Couperin and Debussy for the London Tango Trio and most recently, Bach’s Goldberg Variations for guitar, violin and cello which he performs with Craig Ogden and Tim Hugh. David is regularly invited to perform on film and television soundtracks including orchestra leader in Long Walk to Freedom, The Theory of Everything and Last King of Scotland. His fleeting on-screen appearances include the award-winning drama series Downton Abbey, Youth starring Michael Caine and Ammonite.

David plays on a violin made by J.B. Guadagnini in Piacenza in 1748.

After winning two medals, including the Bach Prize, at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, Tim has appeared with many of Europe’s leading orchestras and worked with conductors including Boulez, Gergiev, Haitink, Rostropovich, Menuhin, Pappano, Previn, Sir Georg Solti, Sir Colin Davis and Sir Andrew Davis. He has toured extensively and also appeared in the Aldeburgh Festival and the BBC Proms in London. After a year at Yale, studying the cello with Aldo Parisot, he gained his MA at Cambridge reading Medicine and Anthropology. Throughout this period, he continued his cello studies with William Pleeth and Jacqueline du Pré.

In 1995 he was appointed Principal Cellist of the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), with whom he immediately appeared as soloist with Pierre Boulez, standing in for Rostropovich.

Tim Hugh’s recordings include concertos by Bliss, Boccherini, C. P. E. Bach, Britten, Finzi, Hofmann, Holst and Walton, the last being shortlisted for a Gramophone Award. Other recordings include Bach’s Suites, Britten’s Suites, Beethoven’s Sonatas, Tavener’s Svyati, and Brahms’s Double Concerto with Haitink and the LSO.

With Maestro Valery Gergiev, he gave the UK premiere of Tishchenko’s Cello Concerto with the LSO at the Barbican, going on to premiere it at the Berlin Philharmonie and the Rotterdam Festival. In 2018 Tim took up the position of joint Principal Cello at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.