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Jorge Bolet and the Gates of Hell
There's a bit of drudgery leafing through masses of newspaper reviews, but it's worth it when you come across a jewel like this. 31 January 1971 (Sunday, 3pm) Fair Lawn High School, Fair Lawn, New Jersey, USA Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.31 in A-flat major, Op.110 Liszt: 12 Études d’exécution transcendante, S.139: 7. Eroica, 5. Feux Follets, 9. Ricordanza, 8. Wilde Jagd Chopin: 24 Preludes, Op.28 Encores: Schumann/Liszt: Widmung, Op.25 No.1 (S.566), Chopin: Waltz in D-flat majo
Blue Pumpkin
Apr 141 min read


Jorge on Latin American music
Jorge Bolet on Latin American music, as reported in the Oregon Daily Journal , 17 November 1962
Blue Pumpkin
Apr 61 min read


At home in the Los Altos Hills
Redwood City Tribune, 31 December 1960
Blue Pumpkin
Apr 51 min read


Garden Party for a Steinway and Jorge Bolet
The Columbus Ledger (Georgia) devotes at least five articles to Jorge in October 1961
Blue Pumpkin
Apr 41 min read


Brass Fanfare for Jorge Bolet
Santa Barbara newspaper, January 1961
Blue Pumpkin
Apr 31 min read


Big break 1938
Check out this page
Blue Pumpkin
Apr 11 min read
Cuban Airs to Sound On Colorado Range
Cuban Airs to Sound On Colorado Range? The Rocky Mountain News (Daily), November 27, 1944 The plaintive if slightly monotonous tempos of the West Indian calypso may leave their mark on the lustier folk music of western North America as an indirect outgrowth of the war. That opinion was voiced in Denver yesterday by Lt. Jorge Bolet, noted Cuban pianist and assistant military attache to the Cuban Embassy in Washington. Lieutenant Bolet is in Denver for an appearance with the D
Blue Pumpkin
Mar 292 min read


Jorge Bolet "conducts" Wagner
Who knew? It cannot have been the full Die Walküre, as that would need to start much earlier than 7:30pm. It was given as a pantomime by a grils' summer camp with JB playing the piano score. Otsego Lake is a lake located in Otsego County in the U.S. state of New York. It is the source of the Susquehanna River and largest lake in Otsego County. The Village of Cooperstown is located at the lake's southern end. Glimmerglass State Park is located on the lake's northeastern shore
Blue Pumpkin
Mar 291 min read


No one can agree!
15, 16 May 1987 Circle Theater, Indianapolis Grieg {+ Saint Saens Organ Symphony [No.3] and José Pablo Moncayo, Huapango } Indianapolis Symphony/John Nelson (Jorge Mester)
Blue Pumpkin
Feb 261 min read


How about that!
First Hand Records is issuing a 3 CD set of Jorge Bolet's Ambassador Auditorium Recitals (Pasadena) 1981 and 1986 in autumn 2026, and for the cover they've chosen a photograph spotted on this website: Wilhelm Fröling's photo of JB in Paris (1988), kindly provided by Mathias Donderer with the agreement of the photographers family. Due for release 3 July 2026 In the Los Angeles Times (13 November 1981), Daniel Cariaga reviewed the first recital. Jorge Bolet reminded us onc
Blue Pumpkin
Feb 51 min read


Prokofiev: Jorge Bolet's first performance
10 January 1950 Municipal Auditorium, New Orleans, Louisiana Prokofiev, Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16 New Orleans Symphony & Massimo Freccia Jorge Bolet's first public performance of the concerto, in an interview with the Times-Picayune (10.1.1950). He had heard it a few years ago, played by Abbey Simon and had rushed out to buy the score but found to his dismay that it was out of print. Simon had photostats of it form The New York Public Library, obtained at consi
Blue Pumpkin
Feb 21 min read


JORGE BOLET – The Ambassador Auditorium Recitals, Pasadena
JORGE BOLET – The Ambassador Auditorium Recitals, Pasadena, California, USA, 1981 and 1986 (3CD) This is the first release of Bolet’s two recitals recorded at the Ambassador Auditorium, California. Transferred and remastered in high resolution. Due out in autumn 2026 LINK 1 NOVEMBER 1981 Felix MENDELSSOHN (1809–1847) 1–3. Fantasia in F sharp minor, Op. 28, ‘Sonate éccossaise’ (1833) Robert SCHUMANN (1810–1856) 4–6. Fantasy in C major, Op. 17 (1838) interval Franz LISZT (1811
Blue Pumpkin
Jan 232 min read
Jorge Bolet/Cleveland Orchestra
A summary of JB's four appearances with The Cleveland Orchestra. 14 November 1944, Civic Auditorium, Grand Rapids, Michigan. This was...
Blue Pumpkin
Jul 29, 20253 min read
Santos Ojeda
Santos Ojeda (January 18, 1917 – May 27, 2004) was a Cuban-born American classical pianist and pedagogue. His early years remind me of...
Blue Pumpkin
Jul 27, 20251 min read


Jorge Bolet teaches John McEnroe
My first thought was that Jorge Bolet was teaching a young John McEnroe, later an international tennis player! Does anyone know who the...
Blue Pumpkin
Jul 14, 20251 min read
Jorge Bolet, Hamman Hall, Rice University 1982
1 February 1982, Hamman Hall, Rice University, Houston, Texas. Fantasy in F-sharp minor, op. 28 / Felix Mendelssohn -- Fantasy in C major, op. 17 / Robert Schumann -- Five Lieder/ Franz Schubert ; transcribed by Franz Liszt -- Mephisto Waltz / Franz Liszt. LINK to recording He played the same programme on 8 February 1982: Van Wezel Auditorium, Sarasota, Florida. Recital includes Schumann's Fantasy , 5 Schubert/Liszt Lieder and the Mephisto waltz. 'His fingers are made of
Blue Pumpkin
Jul 7, 20251 min read


Jorge Bolet, Cuba's Answer to Liberace!
Res Gestae: The Stony Brook School Yearbook 1955 records a rectal by Jorge at his old high school on Long Island (Class of 1934) on 14 October with a well-meaning but less than flattering entry: 'Jorge Bolet, Cuba's answer to Liberace, gives dazzling performance; but even more dazzling are the thirty-eight Knoxers.' The reference is to The Knox School (female boarding and day school on the north shore of Long Island), whose students presumably also attended the recital. On
Blue Pumpkin
Jun 23, 20251 min read


Jorge Bolet plays Liszt in Atlanta 1987
RARE VIDEO: Jorge Bolet plays Liszt in Atlanta. The first six minutes of Liszt, Harmonies poétiques et réligieuses, S.173: Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude, filmed by Frank Bell, Georgia-Pacific Center Auditorium, Atlanta, Georgia, 20 April 1987. I've uploaded this extract from the 2DVD set, details of which seem to have disappeared online. I will take it down, if it is felt this infringes copyright (this extract is not "public" on YouTube but "unlisted", the link being
Blue Pumpkin
Jun 7, 20251 min read


Bad Day at Red Rock(s)
Red Rocks Festival of Music, August 1955
Blue Pumpkin
May 25, 20251 min read


Jorge Bolet performs in Hawaii
Jorge Bolet stayed at the Moana Hotel on Waikiki beach, October 1962 In October 1962, Jorge performed in Honolulu. A local newspaper reported that he was staying at the Moana Hotel. This was a well-established and iconic landmark on Waikiki Beach. The hotel, which opened in 1901, was known for its European-inspired architecture, including Ionic columns and intricate woodwork. It had a grand porte cochere on the street side and wide lanais [lānai = a type of roofed, open-sid
Blue Pumpkin
May 21, 20251 min read
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