7 May, 1950 Teatro Nacional, Havana Recital incl. Beethoven's Sonata in D minor ("Tempest"?), Franck, Prelude, Chorale et Fugue & some Mendelssohn, ending with Strauss/Godowsky "El Murciélago"(Fledermaus Waltzes) Diario de la Marina, 11 May 1950 Jorge Bolet Reveals Himself as a Virtuoso in His Full Maturity The brilliant pianist played Chopin as few have managed to do in his recent concert *A spirited review by Nena Benítez Last Sunday, May 7th, in the morning, we attended an

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

'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.'

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 .

Jorge Bolet, Vienna, 23 May 1935 "But even in Cuba, they are aware of the secrets of Beethoven's style. This was demonstrated by the young, exceptionally charming southerner Jorge Bolet, whose "Appassionata" displayed such maturity, inner serenity, dazzling technique, and nuanced touch..." Die Wiener Tag (7 July) The artist proved himself a refined musician. A clear, well-developed technique – only the fortissimo attack was a little dry – provided the foundation for a per

The great Austrian pianist, Alfred Brendel died at his home in Hampstead, north London on 17 June 2025. I was privileged to hear him many...