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.

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

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

Nice to be reminded of the first recital in whcih I heard Jorge Bolet, January 1985 In the Daily Telegraph, Anthony Payne - English composer, music critic and musicologist, best known for his acclaimed completion of Edward Elgar's third symphony -wrote:

Jorge replaced an indisposed Claudio Arrau sometime in April 1983 but I cannot fit it into the chronology yet. Bonn, West Germany: Beethoven Spring Festival, April 1983 Claudio Arrau was born on 6 February, 1903, in Chillán, Chile celebrated his 80th birthday in 1983. Dieter Schüren wrote in Die Welt (28 April 1983): 'Because the 80-year-old Claudio Arrau suddenly withdrew from the Bonn Beethoven Festival, the spring cycle began a day late and with Jorge Bolet at the piano a

Santiago , Chile: 5 & 7 June 1984 (Jorge had previously performed in Chile on 14 and 16 June 1983. Claudio Arrau had returned to Chile after a long absence in May 1984.) Romantic Programme Teatro Municipal, Santiago, Chile Liszt , Concertos 1 & 2 Orquesta Filarmónica de Santiago/ Simón Blech (1924-1997, Polish-Argentinian) The British Council is one of the sponsors of the concerts, but I don’t know why. ‘The eleventh performance of the Santiago Philharmonic at the Municipa

I sent David a link to the video of his performance with Jorge on 9 November 1988 (see previous post, link below) and he has sent me this appreciation. As with other contributions from students and friends of Jorge, I feel privileged to be able to add David's to this website, not least because he worked - albeit for a brief moment in time - with the pianist. ‘Thanks, Douglas, for sending this. I didn’t even know it existed until you mentioned it. So, it was a live performance

Jorge performed Rachmaninoff's third concerto in Tokyo on 9 (or 10) November 1988 with the NHK Symphony under David Atherton. David Atherton (July 2026) has told me that his files show NHK Symphony rehearsals for Rach PC3 with Jorge on Nov 8, 1988 with a final General Rehearsal on the morning of Nov 9 followed by one concert on Nov 10. 'Including the rehearsals, I probably spent less than five hours in his presence and have no recollection of any social interaction. Normall

Professor Makoto Ueno, Kyoto City Unversity of Arts Your inquiry made me look back again and think about the Curtis days in the 1980s. At one time, I felt some doubt about the way JB taught. My former teacher in Japan criticised me a lot after listening to me at the end of 1984. (I had gone back to Japan for the first time in two and a half years) At one stage, I obtained permission from JB to study with Mieczysław Horszowski, for several lessons. Bolet was away a lot, of

Professor Makoto Ueno has send me a copy of the programme booklet for Jorge's Japan tour in November 1989. A new piece of information is that JB played also in Kobe. On 4 November 1988, in Kobe International House (Kokusai Kaikan), Kobe, Japan Liszt: Six Consolations, S.172, Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude, S.173 No.3 (from Harmonies Poétiques et Religieuses), Funérailles; Chopin, 4 Ballades. [Kobe is located in the Kansai region just 35 km west of Osaka. It's an attra

I have visited the exquisite city of Bath a number of times over the last 30 years, but only this time (July 2026) did I happen to know about Jorge's connection, which I uncovered not so long ago. On Monday 5 June 1989, The Gloucestershire Echo announced 'Today. Jorge Bolet: a piano recital at the Theatre Royal Bath, Somerset; part of Bath International Festival.' This was his final performance in Britain, and it took place in the famous city of honey-coloured stone, a spa

Jorge Bolet Ambassador Auditorium Recitals The 3 CD set is now available for purchase from First Hand Records or your usual source. Exciting times!

"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).