Pianist Jorge Bolet always emphasised to students that the melody must be heard. That's what the audience is paying for, and not the accompaniment.

Excerpts from his obituary in Le Monde, 19 October 1990 'Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude, de Franz Liszt, une oeuvre, irrégulière, passablement saint-sulpicienne transfigurée par une science pianistique, une intériorité confondantes. Pour une fois, la partie centrale s'écoutera sans ennui (Decca 411 803-2). Franz Liszt’s *Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude*—an uneven, somewhat sentimental work transfigured by astonishing pianistic mastery and profound inwardness; for o

In the Decca vaults are both Liszt concertos recorded by Jorge Bolet with Sir Georg Solti and the London Philharmonic in 1986-- but these were never issued. Why?

Jorge sometimes played Le Tombeau de Couperin by Ravel in his recitals, but he never played it with the fugue. Jorge did not like the fugue and even believed it did not fit in to the cycle. About Ravel I can share with you this story. At one of the masterclasses in Edinburgh, a student was struggling with Ravel's Gaspard de la nuit. As always when a student was struggling with the music, Jorge would sit down at the piano and play it himself to show his intentions.I Almost un

I have uncovered so many little tidbits of knowledge while trawling (mostly a pleasurable task) through newspaper archives bur some bits can be lost in this large website. Here's an interesting detail . 16 October 1985 Liverpool, England (for the second time in the city after 20 years) Rachmaninoff 3 [+ Sibelius, Symphony No.4 in A minor] Royal Liverpool Philharmonic/Marek Janowski ​The packed house gave him a tumultuous reception. A local pianist Douglas Miller (1888-1984)

I've just come across a notice in the Brentwood & Ongar Gazette (16 February 1990) advertising a performance at The Brentwood Music Centre on 4 May 1990 (Essex, England), followed by the Congress Theatre, Eastbourne (a resort town on England’s southeast coast) on 5 May. Jorge was meant to be playing, as I recall, the Rachmaninoff/Paganini with Andrew Litton and the Royal Philharmonic. But it was cancelled, though still advertised as late as 27 April in the Billericay Gazett

Two very different reviews of the same recital. 6 September 1982 A morning recital (11am) in the Freemasons' Hall, Edinburgh Beethoven, Sonata No.26 Op.81a Les Adieux, Rachmaninoff, Variations on a theme by Chopin, Liszt, Sposalizio, Campanella ​The Dundee Courier: 'It has been suggested that Bolet is at his best as a solo recitalist, rather than in concertos. It does seem that his rapport with the audience is more quickly, warmly and firmly established as a solo recital​. (D

Jorge Bolet's piano technician 10 February 1987 Manchester Free Trade Hall, England Liszt 2 BBC Philharmonic Orchestra/Bernhard Klee The Manchester Evening News (10 February 1987) mentions piano technician Denijs de Winter and the Bechstein brought from Europe. “The C.Bechstein model D-280 [the company’s flagship 9-foot-2-inch (280 cm) concert grand] used for recordings with Jorge Bolet in London was not based in London. The instrument belonged to Pianomobil in Belgium. This

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:

"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). The PDF has been revised to take account of new material: 14 October 2026.