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

John Gruen interviewed Jorge Bolet for a long article which appeared in The New York Times on 28 January 1973. I've referred to it often (I love the Poe/Hawthorne bit) but here's the text. To sit in a desperately cheerful New York hotel room with Jorge Bolet is to know the meaning of absolute contradiction. The Cuban‐born pianist is simply too imposing and disquieting a figure to meld easily with screaming red‐and‐orange curtains, and wildly patterned bedspreads. He demands

"I've been a long time arriving everywhere"

1914 Born Havana, Cuba on 15 November to Antonio Bolet Valdés and Adelina Tremoleda de la Paz. c.1925/1926 Aged about nine or ten, Jorge played in the old-fashioned salon in Havana of Mrs Amelia Solberg de Hoskinson. 1926 13 August: first of two benefit concerts for the young Jorge in the Teatro Principal de la Comedia (organised by Maria Jones de Castro) 1927 4 September: second of two benefit concerts for the young Jorge in the Gran Teatro Nacional, Havana. Organised by Am

2 February 1978 "It was in the second half of the seventies that I asked Jorge to give a recital in my home town Bilthoven [a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht], part of the municipality De Bilt (Netherlands). Jorge agreed and the concert was arranged by the cultural department of the Town Hall. "The concert was part of a tour, including Amsterdam, of Jorge playing the new Bechstein EN. So the tour was joined by Ulrich Adam, artist representative for Bechstein. (Later

Brazilian/American pianist Francisco Rennó, a student of Bolet at Bloomington, Indiana, wrote to me c.10 years ago, and I've always enjoyed his letter. ‘I first met Jorge Bolet in Caracas, Venezuela, in 1974 at the Teresa Carreño International Piano Competition, where I was one of the competitors and he served as chairman of the jury. Bolet was one of two people who made it possible for me to leave behind the impoverished conditions of my native Brazil, come to the US to ac

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).

10 July 1979 Teatro Solís, Montevideo, Uruguay 30th anniversary of SODRE (Servicio Oficial de Difusión, Representaciones y Espectáculos; Official Service for Broadcasting, Performances and Entertainment) in con junction with the Embassy of the USA Liszt's Sonata, Funerailles and his Transcendental Études 7, 6, 12, 9 and 8. (JB's first appearance in the country) ​El País (Montevideo): Inimitable style. He is a gigantic man, and possesses a musical and pianistic talent that is

'I played for Bolet in Sydney when he was on tour (1969 or 70): Chopin's fourth ballade. He was very complimentary. When I asked him, do you play much Beethoven, he answered "You don't have to play Beethoven to be a good pianist". Then he proceeded to play me some Chopin-Godowsky....a lovely man.'

This list does not include Cuba. See also 1936-58 1974 In late 1974, Jorge was one of the judges on the Concurso Latinoamericano de Piano Teresa Carreño in Caracas, Venezuela. He made a number of concert appearances in Caracas. 1975 17 September 1975 São Paulo, Brazil Recital 19 and 21 September 1975 Teatro Municipal de São Paulo, Brazil Rachmaninoff's Paganini Variations OSESP (Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo) under Gerard Devos ​ 23 September 1975 [?] Rio de Ja

John Crouch, a former Indiana student of JB for 3 years, was interviewed in 1979 (what follows is a mixture of his own words and those of the journalist): 'Bolet is a natural pianist, like a natural athlete. At the peak of what could be called his first career, his manager was scheduling him for 100-120 performances a year, which is one almost every three days. Then, in his mid-50s, Bolet decided to start winding down his performing career and in 1968, accepted a teaching po

Review of 10 May 1979 recital in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London

Jorge Bolet began his major return to the UK in 1977. Edward Greenfield's review is very complimentary. 17 February 1977, Thursday (he was aged 62) Queen Elizabeth Hall, London Haydn, Sonata in E flat (No.52), Telemann/Reger, Liszt 3 Concert Studies, Don Juan Fantasy Jorge was generous with encores. Chopin: Nocturne in F minor, Op.55 No.1, Moszkowski: La Jongleuse, Op.52 No.4, Chopin/Godowsky: Etude in G-flat major, Op.10 No.5 (Study No.7 in G-flat major), Liszt: Valse-Impro

My trawl through Jorge Bolet's concerts has clarified a number of issues. It looks as if it was in the mid-1970s that he introduced two new and substantial works to his repertoire. I could have missed earlier mentions but it may be that someone can explain how he came to these two works, especially the Reger which has high rarity value. 29 September 1975 Teatro Coliseo, Buenos Aires (Argentina) incl.Chopin's Sonata No. 3 in B minor Op.58 and the Mozart/Liszt Don Juan Fantas

The Mail & Globe, Toronto (April 1975) 17 April 1975; Eaton Auditorium, Toronto, Canada. [JB's Toronto recital début] Mendelssohn, Chopin, Sonata No.3, Liszt Petrarch + Tannhäuser 'When you consider, he's been playing professionally for more than 40 years, he seems to have taken his time getting up here. But then, as he says "I've been a long time arriving everywhere."'

Michael Steinberg wrote a long and considered review in The Boston Globe (4.8.1974) of Jorge Bolet's Carnegie Hall recording whoch RCA issued in August 1974 Carl Michael Alfred Steinberg (4 October 1928 – 26 July 2009) was an American music critic and author who specialised in classical music. He was best known, according to San Francisco Chronicle music critic Joshua Kosman, for "the illuminating, witty and often deeply personal notes he wrote for the San Francisco Sympho

In noting down that Jorge Bolet gave summer masterclasses at Indiana during 17-21 June, 1974, I recalled a witty remark from the transcript of one masterclass - not necessarily at Indiana - where he emphasised that the melody must always be brought out (something he always demonstrated in his own playing). He said something like: "I have given hundreds of concerts, and I've never known anyone to pay the price of admission to hear an Alberti bass."

Jorge never was a man for reading many books but, for sure, he knew which books to read. Mark Twain's 'Letters from earth' (which JB once recommended to a journalist) is certainly one of them. Jorge usualy read many magazines when on tour. These were mostly about cars, photography and cameras. He went crazy when in the USA the Canon A1 came out. As he knew that I also loved photography, he bought one for me as in Europe the A1 was not yet on the market. Mattheus Smits The Ca