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Dirk Bogarde on Liszt and "Victim"
Speaking in 1974 to Russell Harty
Blue Pumpkin
19 hours ago1 min read


Australian reviews 1965
Jorge Bolet in the Syndey Morning Herald and The Age
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2 days ago1 min read


Jorge Bolet in northern Spain
A couple of clippings from Cincinnati newspapers October 1963
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3 days ago1 min read


Jorge on Latin American music
Jorge Bolet on Latin American music, as reported in the Oregon Daily Journal , 17 November 1962
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5 days ago1 min read


At home in the Los Altos Hills
Redwood City Tribune, 31 December 1960
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6 days ago1 min read


Garden Party for a Steinway and Jorge Bolet
The Columbus Ledger (Georgia) devotes at least five articles to Jorge in October 1961
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7 days ago1 min read


Bolet plays Liszt's 90 year old piano
Jorge Bolet, Hochschule für Musik, Berlin, March 1961. "Only David Oistrakh received the sort of ovation this audience gave Mr Bolet, calling him again and again to the stage for more than half an hour after the concert." ( Tagespiegel 31.3.1961) Of the Liszt festival in Berlin in August/September 1961: Spandauer Volksblatt (5 October 1961), "When something up after the end of the Festival Weeks, Jorge Bolet's piano, recital will remain as one of the strongest assets. He pl
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Apr 31 min read


Brass Fanfare for Jorge Bolet
Santa Barbara newspaper, January 1961
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Apr 31 min read


Pianist Receives a “Strong” Welcome
Pianist Jorge Bolet Receives a “Strong” Welcome "A visiting pianist at Joint Senior High School expected polite applause and perhaps a wilted corsage. Instead, he was met by the school’s human brick wall: the school’s impressively built football team, captained by Buck “Brick” Donovan—owner of a jaw you could sharpen pencils on, shoulders that apparently require their own postcode, and a varsity sweater clinging on for dear life. His grin? Bright enough to make the stage ligh
Blue Pumpkin
Apr 12 min read
Bolet researches in Weimar
New Zealand's Evening Post (11 March 1961) carries a text by Jorge Bolet on his preparation for the 1960 film (with Dirk Bogarde) When William Goetz, the producer of "Song Without End " first approached me with the idea of portraying musically the great Franz Liszt , I must confess I received the suggestion with mixed feelings. Naturally, I was enthusiastic at the opportunity to play the music of a man who had always been my artistic idol, but the offer had its terrifyi
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Mar 302 min read


Jorge Bolet in New Zealand/Aotearoa
I've added some reviews from Jorge's New Zealand tour of 1964 to the relevant page. Here are some clippings from the Evening Post .
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Mar 301 min read
Puzzling: who was the conductor?
On 30 June 1969, Jorge Bolet gave a performance at Bloomington, Indiana, where he had just started teaching. He played Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30. Ralph Vaughan William's glorious Symphony No. 5 in D major was the other item on the programme. On the Palexa CD that came out, Charles Webb is assumed to be the conductor. Several discographies list him as being on the podium. However, The Indianapolis Star (25.6.1969) mentions that the conductor will
Blue Pumpkin
Feb 131 min read


Jorge Bolet, Tchaikovsky Madrid 1968
25/26 (?) January 1968, Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto in the Teatro Real, Madrid with Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos and the Orquesta Nacional de España. "Pines of Rome" by Respighi and a work by Óscar Esplá (1886-1976). 'The Cuban pianist Jorge Bolet possesses the technique of a great virtuoso, demonstrated time and again in both the mechanical capacity and the possibilities of power ( demostrada una y otra veztanto en la capacidad mecánica como en las posibilidades de potencia
Blue Pumpkin
Nov 25, 20251 min read


Jorge Bolet and The Devil, 1964
Jorge Bolet and The Devil, 1964: the video will explain! In late October and November, Bolet made a tour of South Africa (spring in the southern hemisphere). Impresario Hans Adler told the Johannesburg Sunday Times in November 1962 that negotiations for the tour were already under way. This tour would also include a recital in Windhoek, formerly South West Africa, now Namibia). See South Africa page for more details
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Nov 22, 20251 min read


Jorge Bolet and the Train Driver
Sunday, 21 October 1956, Åmål in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. Svenska Dagbladet says 'the famous American will visit the Music Circle of the School ( Läroverk ) here today'. The same newspaper report on 31 December 1960 the following: 'Mr Bolet suddenly showed himself to be very familiar with Åmål. He simply loved the little town. A few years ago he went there to give a concert. He came a day early. Therefore no one was down to meet him at the railway station. The plac
Blue Pumpkin
Aug 2, 20251 min read


Jorge Bolet: Cape Town 1964
Check the relevant page for more detail on the orchestral concert on Thursday 22nd. On Tuesday 27 October, Die Burger reported on Saturday evening's recital at Green Point, when Jorge played Beethoven's Sonata No.31 in A flat, Op.110 and the Liszt Transcendental Etudes. 'Bolet's musical gifts command the highest respect. He has technical finger skills that are strongly reminiscent of Horowitz, and he has the appearance, muscular strength and endurance of a Springbok rugby
Blue Pumpkin
Jun 5, 20252 min read


Jorge Bolet performs in Hawaii
Jorge Bolet stayed at the Moana Hotel on Waikiki beach, October 1962 In October 1962, Jorge performed in Honolulu. A local newspaper reported that he was staying at the Moana Hotel. This was a well-established and iconic landmark on Waikiki Beach. The hotel, which opened in 1901, was known for its European-inspired architecture, including Ionic columns and intricate woodwork. It had a grand porte cochere on the street side and wide lanais [lānai = a type of roofed, open-sid
Blue Pumpkin
May 21, 20251 min read
Villa Egoki, Fuenterrabia
Finally! After hearing about Jorge's home in Spain during 1960s-1980s, I get an address. I've been looking for this since 1983 when JB listed it in an Directory of International Musicians as simply Apartado 5. A chance find among YouTube comments led me to Carlos Johansson. Carlos Johansson has said that 'Jorge Bolet lived in our house in Fuenterrabia, Spain (the Basque country) for many years. This was the Villa Egoki, which my mother rented to him and his partner during
Blue Pumpkin
Jan 20, 20252 min read
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