(Translation from Dutch via internet apps is a bit rough in places!) Five counts from now, and without mercy, the green studio light turns red—the fatal moment, at which a recording that is nerve-wracking for the pianist begins. Everything seems to proceed effortlessly, but "Vision," a melancholic etude building to a climax, turned out less well than Bolet had expected, and he plays it again with even greater concentration. "I hate recording," he says fiercely and grimly. He

12 April 1962 Recital in the hall of the Rijnhotel, Mauritsweg, Rotterdam, incl. Chopin's Sonata No. 3 in B minor Op.58, Beethoven's Appassionata and Liszt's Mephisto Waltz. ​[The recital by American pianist Jorge Bolet for the Rotterdamsche Kunstkring has been moved from April 3 to April 12. Jorge Bolet will then perform in the AMVJ Hall of the Rijnhotel.]​ Pianist with Fabulous Technique, Audience in Utter Ecstasy. See full review It is extremely rare for a recital to be aw

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?

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

29 May 1962 (aged 47) Royal Festival Hall, London Beethoven’s Sonata Op. 57, Appassionata, Liszt’s B minor sonata and Chopin’s Third Sonata (This was not, as sometimes assumed, his London solo début - that was on 18 December 1955, also in the Festival Hall.)​ Alistair Londonderry wrote in The Queen (3 April 1962) that 'his is not the icy diablerie of Michelangeli's virtuosity, nor is there anywhere the slightest lack of conviction. Liszt's sonata is one of the greatest works

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

26 April 1961 (postponed from 17th) Teatro Fortuny, Reus, Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain Liszt recital (for Associació de Concerts de Reus, 150th anniversary of Liszt) (Birthplace of the legendary architect Antoni Gaudí) 'Due to the performer's illness, the concert that pianist Jorge Bolet was scheduled to give last week [17 April] for the Concert Association at the Teatro Fortuny was postponed; the recital will now take place next Wednesday, the 26th.' Reus Semanario de la Ciud

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,

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

Diário do Pará, the largest newspaper in the northern region of Brazil, based in Belém, Pará. Its Sunday edition of 24 November 1985 carried a review of Liszt volume 5 (Années de Pèlerinage: Suisse S.160) for Decca. Quando certa vez perguntei a Hélio Gaspar, o excelente pianista paraense, qual o pianista da atualidade que lhe causava mais admiração, ele respondeu sem pestanejar: o cu- bano Jorge Bolet. E arrematou: gostaria de tocar como ele. Quem sou eu para contradizer o He

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

14 November 1981 Kobacker Hall, Bowling Green State University, Ohio Mendelssohn, Schumann Fantasy, Schubert/Liszt Lieder, Mephisto waltz (as 11 Nov. 1981) ​​ Boris Nelson, in The Toledo Blade 16.11.81: 'Mr Bolet's brilliant playing has been honed to the very edge. His immense, virtuosity, experience, and sheer intelligence all concentrate on the music's lyricism. And being a romantic at heart, he envelops it with a luminous sound that whispers or propels into a sunburst of p

Latest upload on YouTube, always to keep Jorge's name in view

Just occasionally I might mention another pianist, and this evening Monday 4 May 2026 at the Wigmore Hall in London I heard Swiss Italian Francesco Piemontesi (b.1983 Locarno). He played Schubert's Sonata in G Major D894 followed by Liszt's Années de pèlerinage, première année, Suisse S160. I think it is one of the best piano recitals I’ve heard in 40 years of attending concerts. He also treated us to two encores, one of which was beloved of Jorge Bolet: Chopin/Godowsky, Étud

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

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

Jorge Bolet in the Syndey Morning Herald and The Age

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