"I've been a long time arriving everywhere"

This is an extensive and detailed account of Jorge Bolet during his three visits to Japan in the years 1946, 1976 and 1988 but it also examines the wider picture of his career at these times. Comments, corrections and additions are most welcome. Use the contact box (unless you already have my email).

It is not my intention to write a biography of Jorge Bolet, but I thought I would have a go at one chapter on his early years (1914-1927), especially as the material is rather scattered on this website, and confusing, too. This has enabled me to make connections with things I know now about his later life when I see what I have written on the page. Comments, corrections and additions are most welcome. UPDATE! When I say the material is rather scattered and confusing, I mean

The Eighth Sonata There are only two performance that I know of (no doubt there are a few more). 3 December 1948 Carnegie Hall, NYC The programme of his 6th appearance here included: Beethoven's Rondo Op. 51/1 in C Schubert's A minor Sonata D.748 Prokofiev's Sonata No. 8 in B flat major Op. 84 Chopin's Ballade in G minor Op.23, Berceuse, and a Saint-Saëns Waltz. 27 April 1949 Havana, Cuba (for the Sociedad Amigos de la Música) incl. Piano Sonata in A minor, D 784 (Schubert

12 April 1943 Havana Rachmaninoff 3rd concerto (Jorge Bolet) [+Mozart, Symphony No.33 in B flat major, K. 319 & Wagner, Meistersinger overture] Orquesta Filarmónica de la Habana/Erich Kleiber The extract is from: Erich Kleiber, a memoir (1957) by John Russell Custodio, music critic, in Noticias de Hoy (14 April 1943)is full of praise for Kleiber. Dr. Agustin Batista, president of the Patronato Pro Música Sinfónica (Board for Symphonic Music), delivered some courageous words,

New Zealand Listener, 4 September 1964 A VERITABLE DYNAMO Jorge Bolet, the pianist who begins his tour of New Zealand for the NZBC next week, is a man of great physical stamina. This is reflected in his playing: Press reviews consistently describe his performances as blazing, imposingly vigorous, masculine, virile. And he has been called “a veritable dynamo of power and feeling” (...) Bolet is regarded as a specialist on that composer [Liszt]. At a Berlin recital in 1961 he

I know of at least three performance of Jorge Bolet's performance with Dr Weissmann in Scranton, PA, but the Havana connection is interesting - he was succeeded by Alberto Bolet in 1953: 4 October 1944 Masonic Temple (Scranton, Pennsylvania) Scranton Philharmonic/Frieder Weissmann 12 March 1945 Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton Philharmonic/Frieder Weissmann 14 March 1949 Masonic Temple, Scranton, PA. Liszt, Concerto No. 2 in A major Scranton Philharmonic/ Frieder Weissmann 22

September 2026 'The diverse and storied musical career of Earl Wild, one of the most prodigious and virtuosic pianists of the 20th century. The unique trajectory of Wild’s career stands out in comparison with other classical pianists. Drawing on meticulous research, Ian Hominick highlights the progress of a musician forced to diversify his skills from an early age for the sake of subsistence, to one who fully embraced the variety of musical life, pursuing collaborations acro

Jorge first played in Santiago de Chile, Chile in June 1983. He returned on 5, 7 June 1984 and Sergio escobar wrote a review for La Nacion. Teatro Municipal, Santiago, Chile Liszt, Concertos 1 & 2 [+ Tchaikovsky 6] Orquesta Filarmónica de Santiago/ Simón Blech (1924-1997, Polish-Argentinian) ​​ 'This year Jorge Bolet has returned—tall, erect, with large hands—and, in case anyone remained unconvinced that he is one of the finest pianists of Romantic music, he has just performe

I've just come across this substack article by a former student of Jorge. I've included a a couple of excerpts here but this is the link to the source. Five Years With A Legendary Musician The greatness - and oddness - of an immortal pianist Glenn Winters January 16, 2026 He was not a warm teddy bear As a skinny excited freshman piano major at Indiana, I was gobsmacked and totally star-struck to be accepted into Bolet’s studio. I knew all about him - we had a copy of the Son

Elżbieta Szczepańska-Malinowska: "Dyskretny zapach fermen-tacji..." ["The discreet scent of fermentation..."]: L. Godowsky's paraphrases of Chopin's Etudes and Waltzes recorded by Jorge Bolet, L'Oiseau de Lyre In: Rocznik Chopinowski, 13: 1981, p. 171-3. The pianist's fantasising on the material of piano compositions whose essence—as in Chopin's etudes and waltzes—is figuration or ornamental texture, richly endowed with virtuosity by the composer himself, may seem an idea bor

The Times, 3 July 1992 Obituary of Peter Wadland, one of the significant helpers of Jorge Bolet's career. The Independent (2 July 1992, James Jolly) Peter Wadland, record producer, born Exmouth 28 May 1946, died London 30 June 1992. WHEN the history of the gramophone comes to be written, one name high on the list of major influences will be Peter Wadland, who at his death was Chief Producer of Decca's early music L'Oiseau-Lyre label. He was a man of great taste and style, qua

Learn the secrets of pianist Jorge Bolet's use of the pedal when playing the piano.

A rare performance of Jorge in chamber music 2 July 1968 Plaça de Sant Felip Neri, in the Gothic Quarter [Barrio Gótico], Barcelona, Spain Chamber music: trios by Ravel (in A minor, 1914) and Tchaikovsky (in A minor, Op.50) with Victor Martin & Marco Seano ​ ​In Destino (13.7.1968), J. Casanovas writes: ​'The tradition of serenades during summer nights seems to have taken firm root, as is often the case with things that are well thought out and executed. The programme consist

26 April 1961 (postponed from 17th) Teatro Fortuny, Reus, Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain Liszt recital (for Associació de Concerts de Reus, 150th anniversary of Liszt) (Birthplace of the legendary architect Antoni Gaudí) 'Due to the performer's illness, the concert that pianist Jorge Bolet was scheduled to give last week [17 April] for the Concert Association at the Teatro Fortuny was postponed; the recital will now take place next Wednesday, the 26th.' Reus Semanario de la Ciud

Jorge Bolet speaks about how to play the music of Liszt.

Susan Goldenberg, Steinway from glory to controversy: the family, the business, the piano (1996), 147 claims that Jorge Bolet had been introduced to Baldwin pianos by Serge Koussevitzky [in the 1950s?]. 'After Baldwin sold the Bechstein line, it air-freighted an SD-10 to Europe for a 26 city tour by the internationally, acclaimed, pianist, Jorge Bolet. Bolet and SD-10 drew rave reviews, enabling Baldwin to gain a foothold in Europe.' This particular tour was in the mid-1980s

c.21 August 1986 In August 1986, the International Chamber Music Festival (Festival Internazionale di Musica da Camera) in Cervo, was well into its classic summer run, hosting classical soloists and chamber ensembles in the historic open-air square of the Piazza dei Corallini. It was inaugurated in 1964, the brainchild of the renowned Hungarian violinist Sandor Vegh. It is held every July and August in the picturesque church square of Cervo, a small, ancient town in Liguria,

Wisps of Internet chatter that there has been/will be (or not!) an issue of Jorge Bolet's recital for Radio France on 31 January 1985. I see that Tower Records Japan advertises it. This recital was two days after I heard him live in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London on 29 January, and I recall when going backstage to meet him for the very first time that he told a friend he would be in Paris the next day - and so he was! The CD cover (it actually seems to consist of two CD

LISTEN I had occasionally wondered whether Jorge Bolet played the arpeggios of Un Sospiro completely in the left hand, thus being able use the right hand for the unbroken melody, i.e. not using alternate left and right hands for the individual notes. Mattheus Smits, a friend of Jorge Bolet, has confirmed to me that he didn’t cross hands when playing this piece. “In general Jorge disliked crossing hands: too much movement for, in this case, no use at all.” "In Un Sospiro Jorg