1981
12 February 1981
Convocation Hall, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
Inaugural Nicholas Arthur Kilburn Memorial Concert
Mendelssohn’s Song without Words, Op. 19 and Prelude and Fugue in E. minor, Op. 35; Schumann’s Carnaval, Op. 9; and Listz’s Années de Pélerinage, Book II (“Italie”), Sonetto 104 del Petrarca, Sonetto 123 del Petrarca, and Aprés une lecture de Dante (Fantasia quasi Sonata).
15 & 16 February 1981
Jubilee Auditorium, Calgary, Canada
Rachmaninoff 3
Árpád Jóo and the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra
15 March 1981
QEH, London
Mendelssohn Prelude and Fugue In E minor. Op. 35 No. 1: Franck Prelude. Choral et Fugue: 3 p.m. Weber/Godowsky InvItation to the Dance: Chopin Sonata in B minor. On. 58: Andante spianato and grande polonaIse.
24 March 1981
Hamburg
BEETHOVEN: Sonata No. 31, Op 110 in A flat; REGER: Telemann Variations; LISZT: 3 Petrarch Sonnets, 47, 104, 123; MOZART/LISZT: Don Juan Fantasy.
19 March 1981
Festival Theatre, Paignton, Devon (UK)
Rachmaninoff 3
Bournemouth Symphony and George Hurst
29 March 1981
Gordon Craig Theatre, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England.
Programme included Beethoven’s Sonata in A flat Op 110, Max Reger’s Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Telemann Op 134, six keyboard transcriptions of Schubert songs by Liszt, as well as his Rhapsodie Espagnole.
31 March 1981
Bishopsgate Hall, London
Lunchtime recital
2 April 1981
City Music Society, Goldsmiths' Hall, London
March, 1981: with Heribert Esser and the Orchester des Staastheaters Braunschweig
4 & 6 June, 1981
Sala Nezahualcóyotl., Mexico City
Brahms, Piano Concerto No.2 in B flat (?)
Enrique Diemecke and the Orquesta Filarmonica de le UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México)
16 June, 1981
Milan, Italy: recital
Australia, July/August 1981
16 July 1981
Beethoven, Piano Concerto No.5 in E flat, "Emperor"
Hobart, TasmaniaTasmanian Symphony Orchestra under Barry Tuckwell
18/ 20/ 21 July 1981
Melbourne
Chopin E minor Concerto [No. 1]
24/ 25 July 1981
Adelaide, with orchestra under Jose Serebier
27 July 1981
Town Hall, Adelaide: recital
29 July 1981
Perth: solo recital
31 July & 1 August 1981
Perth, orchestral
5 August 1981
Albury, NSW: recital
8 & 11 August 1981
Brisbane, orchestral with Vančo Čavdarski
13 August 1981
Dallas Brooks Hall, Melbourne
Andante favori; Sonata No. 31, Op. 110 (Beethoven), Andante spianato & Grand Polonaise, Op. 22 (Chopin) Years of Pilgrimage, Book 2: Petrarch Sonnets Nos. 47, 104,123, (Liszt) Rhapsodie espagnole (Liszt)
15 August 1981
Syndey Opera House
incl. Schumann, Carnaval, Liszt, Dante Sonata
18? August 1981
Newcastle, recital
19 August 1981
Sydney Opera House
Chopin's E minor concerto
Sydney Symphony Orchestra/ Kurt Sanderling
20, 22, 24, 25 August 1981
Sydney
incl. Liszt, Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat [25th]
with East German maestro Kurt Sanderling
26 August 1981
Town Hall, Sydney
Beethoven, Piano Concerto No.5 in E flat, "Emperor"
Sydney Symphony Orchestra/ Kurt Sanderling
28/29 August 1981
Canberra School of Music
Mendelssohn Songs without Words, Prelude & Fugue in E minor Op. 35/1, Schumann's Carnaval, Weber/Godowsky Invitation to the Dance, Liszt, Dante Sonata.
14 September 1981
Seattle
Mozart concerto
Rainer Miedél and the Seattle Symphony Orchestra
2 October 1981
Grand Opera House, 818 Market Street Mall, Wilmington. Delaware
Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1
Delaware SO & Stephen Gunzenhauser
18 October 1981 [15th?]
Teatro Degollado, Guadalajara (Jalisco), Mexico
Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto no. 2 in C minor Op. 18
Conductor: Hugo Jan Huss
The first concert of the 1981-2 season [October?]of the Florida Philharmonic was with the Swedish guest conductor Sixten Ehrling (Jorge had performed with him. e.g April and July 1963, June 1964 in Stockholm):
Prokofiev, Concerto No. 2 in G minor for Piano and Orchestra, op. 16
27 October 1981
de Doelen, Rotterdam (Holland): recital.
Mendelssohn's Fantasie in F sharp op.28 (alias 'Scottish Sonata'),Schumann's Fantasy in C major op.17, five Schubert songs in Liszt's arrangements, Mephisto waltz.
Jorge had played there in December 1965 when they were testing the acoustics for the hall's reopening
4 November 1981
Utrecht, Holland
11 November 1981
Ambassador College, Pasadena, California, USA
Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Felix, 1809-1847. Phantasien, op. 28, F♯ minor -- Schumann, Robert, 1810-1856. Fantasien, op. 17, C major -- Liszt, Franz, 1811-1886. Selections (Lieder von Fr. Schubert) -- Liszt, Franz, 1811-1886. Episoden aus Lenau’s Faust. Tanz in der Dorfschenke
14 November 1981
Kobacker Hall, Bowling Green State University, Ohio
Mendelssohn, Schumann Fantasy, Schubert/Liszt Lieder, Mephisto waltz.
20 November 1981
Teatro Nacional Eduardo Brito, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Mendelssohn, Schumann, Schubert & Liszt
In El Caribe (12.11.81), Lamela Geler stated that Jorge visited the city in the early 1950s and played in the Teatro Olimpia, under the auspices of Sociedad Pro Arte. Now he gives a second recital in Santo Domingo.
It was in November of this year that he recorded his first Liszt pieces in the Kingsway Hall, London for the Decca series (music which turned out to be Vol. 2 Liszt/Schubert songs, one of the finest of his recordings.
The producer was Michael Haas and the date was 24-27 November, 1981 Kingsway Hall. It was issued in November 1983.
13 December 1981
Houston Symphony and Sir Alexander Gibson (the Scottish conductor with whom Jorge had made his début in Glasgow, Scotland on 24 June, 1963)
27 December, 1981
Hayes Street Grill, San Francisco, California.
incl. Mendelssohn: Fantasy in F-sharp minor, Op.28 (Sonate Écossaise)
'This concert was arranged by a close friend of Bolet’s, who hired the restaurant and invited 60 or so people. The event was very much in Bolet’s honour, who probably played without fee. After the concert and the following dinner Bolet sat down and socialised and played informally for a number of the guests, mostly music at their request – including an improvisation.' (Christian Johansson)
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.
8 February 1982
Van Wezel Auditorium, Sarasota, Florida.
Recital includes Schumann's Fantasy, 5 Schubert/Liszt Lieder and the Mephisto waltz.
23 February 1982
Wigmore Hall, London
27/ 28 March 1982
Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium of the Metropolitan Museum New York City
Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major Op.58
Musica Æterna Orchestra and conductor Frederic Waldman
With the same forces he had performed Beethoven's third concerto in the same locale on 8 December 1973.
There were concerts in Germany in March 1981, including those with Christof Prick and the Sechsten Symphoniekonzert der Badischen Staatskapelle (Berlin), and with Ferdinand Leitner and the NDR-Sinfonieorchester Hamburg.
17 April 1982
Ocean State Performing Arts Center, Providence, Rhode Island USA
Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat by Liszt
Franck's Symphonic Variations
Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra, under Alvaro Cassuto
29/ 30 April, 1/ 4 May 1982
Avery Fisher Hall, New York
Joseph Marx’s Romantic Piano Concerto in E major (1916-19)
New York Philharmonic, Zubin Mehta
"And from here, I'm taking it straight to Vienna, Berlin, Hamburg, Linz, Zagreb and Munich"(Interview with Allan Kozinn, The New York Times, April 1982)
Jorge had last played with the NY Philharmonic in May 1975 [?]
13/14 May 1982
Musikverein, Vienna
Joseph Marx’s Romantic Piano Concerto in E major (1916-19)
ORF Orchestra under Ali Rahbari
18 May 1982
Augsburg, Germany
with conductor Bruno Weill
21 May 1982
City Hall, Perth, Scotland
Liszt, Schubert and Chopin incl. Mephisto Waltz, Chopin's Barcarolle & third sonata.
24 May 1982
Queen Elizabeth Hall, London.
incl. Schumann Fantasy Op.17, Mendelssohn's Fantasy Op. 28, five of Liszt's versions of Schubert's songs.
26 May 1982
Oosterpoort, Groningen, Netherlands
Rachmaninoff concerto No. 3
Noordelijk Filharmonisch Orkest under Lucas Vis
Jorge's itinerary states that 1-15 June 1982 were reserved for Mexico
12 June 1982
Teatro Solís, Montevideo, Uruguay
Liszt, Concerto No. 2 and the Hungarian Fantasia
Brazilian conductor Isaac Karabtchewsky & the Sodre Symphony Orchestra, the national orchestra
On Wednesday, 25 August Jorge flew from San Francisco to New York JFK, from where on 26 he flew to London, and on the 27th to Edinburgh
28 August 1982
Usher Hall, Edinburgh
Liszt's second piano concerto in A major
Scottish National Orchestra/ Sir Alexander Gibson
On 29 he flew from Edinburgh to Hannover (Germany), via London
30/31 August 1982 [?]
Joseph Marx’s Romantic Piano Concerto in E major (1916-19), with the Bavarian Radio SO under Marek Janowski, was also recorded in the Münchner Residenz (Herkulessaal) – probably on 30/31 August 1982 - but only for radio transmission (which seems to have been on 30 November 1982). JB's date book says Hannover recording for NDR (North German Radio)
2 September 1982
Royal Albert Hall, Prom concert
Liszt Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, S.124
Paavo Berglund + BBC Welsh Symphony
Christian Johansson has noted that, as an encore in the 2nd September Prom, Jorge played Liszt: Funérailles, S.173 No.7 (from Harmonies Poétiques et Religieuses). 'The encore was dedicated to the memory of Sir Clifford Curzon (1907-1982), who had died the previous day.'
6 September 1982
A morning recital in the Freemasons' Hall, Edinburgh
Beethoven Les Adieux, Rachmaninoff, Variations on a theme by Chopin, Liszt, Sposalizio, Campanella
10 September 1982
Wuppertal, Germany
with conductor Hans-Martin Schmidt
18 September 1982
Croydon, south London
Rachmaninoff 3 [?] which he record on 19-20th for Decca
Ivan Fischer, LSO
23 September 1982
Düsseldorf [?]
31 October, 1982
Angelico Auditorium, Dominican College, San Rafael (California)
Schumann, Fantasiestucke Op 12, Brahms, Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op 24, Rachmaninov, Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op 22, Kreisler-Rachmaninov, Liebeslied & Liebesfreud.
The Schumann is not otherwise available in JB's discography, though the pianist had a long acquaintance with the music. For example: on Thursday 27 October 1932, students of the Curtis Institute played in Bomberger Hall, Ursinus College, a liberal arts college in Collegeville, Pennsylvania (25 miles from downtown Philadelphia). Jorge performed four pieces from Schumann's Fantasiestücke (Des Abends, Fabel, Aufschwung, Ende vom Lied). 'Very noticeable were [JB's] clarity and melody in the slow parts.'
13 November 1982
Sala René Marqués of the Centro de Bellas Artes, San Juan (Puerto Rico)
Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto no. 2 in C minor Op. 18
Orquesta Sinfónica de Puerto Rico under John Barnett
Cristobal Diaz writing in El Mundo 7.11.82 recalls an unforgettable night at the Teatro Tapia in November 1977, which seems to be when he last heard Bolet in San Juan, or it may be the last time JB performed in the city.
19/20 November 1982
Lyric Theatre, Kansas City, USA
Rachmaninoff 2
with Thomas Schuback
4 December 1982
City Halls, Glasgow, Scotland
Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor
Scottish National Orchestra and Paavo Berglund
7 December 1982
Aberdeen, Scotland.
Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor
Scottish National Orchestra and Paavo Berglund
15 December 1982
Teatro Olimpico, Rome
an all-Liszt recital
Jorge records Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major, S125 with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra under Edo de Waart: 19 December 1982 in the Großer Sendesaal, Haus des Rundfunks, Berlin, Germany
1983
6 January 1983
Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium, Metropolitan Museum New York City.
Haydn, Andante con Variazione in F minor and the Sonata in E flat (Hob. XVI/52), Brahms, Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Handel (Op. 24), Liszt, Sonata in B minor and, as a programmed encore, the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12
27 February 1983
Usher Hall, Edinburgh
Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30
BBC Scottish SO and Bryden Thomson
This would be broadcast on BBC television in the summer of 1983, as the culmination of three programmes of masterclasses on the concerto.
28 February 1983
St. John’s, Smith Square, London
including Mendelssohn, Fantasy Op. 28 in F sharp minor (‘Scottish’), Chopin’s Third Sonata and the Kreisler/Rachmaninov lollipops.
4 March, 1983
Stadtcasino Musiksaal, Basel, Switzerland
Gershwin, Concerto in F (1925) [+"An American in Paris"]
Radio-Sinfonieorchester/ Matthias Bamert:
25 April - 1 May 1983
Indianapolis, USA: Butler University's Romantic Festival XVI was called "Brahms and His Vienna".
During which...
28 April 1983
Brahms 2
Butler University Orchestra & Jackson Wiley
25 April and 9 May 1983 [did JB take part?]
The Sydney Morning Herald (20 March 1983) advertised "Music Festival at Sea" Royal Viking Line cruises departing Athens's (Greece) harbour Piraeus on 25 April and 9 May, 'sailing on the sparkling blue waters of the Mediterranean and the Adriatic', enjoying performances at sea by such renowned artists and Jorge Bolet and Victoria de los Angeles, with stops in Dubrovnik and Venice.'
14 /16 June 1983
Teatro Municipal, Santiago de Chile, Chile
Rachmaninoff 3
Juan Pablo Izquierdo and the Orquesta Filarmónica de Santiago
There's some confusion as the season schedule lists Tuesday and Thursday 14/16 June 1983 as conducted by Franz Paul Decker; the Rachmaninoff is there but it's framed by Hindemith's Mathis der Maler symphony and Richard Strauss's Rosenkavalier Waltzes. Indisposition?
Jorge was back in Chile again in May 1984.
29 June 1983
Granada, Spain: solo recital for the Festival Internacional de Granada
25 July 1983
Lima, Peru [?]
with Peruvian conductor Armando Sánchez Málaga & Orquesta Sinfónica de la Escuela de Música.
29 July 1983
Cine-Teatro Embaixador, Gramado (Rio Grande do Sul), Brazil
30 July 1983
Gramado (Rio Grande do Sul), Brazil
Schubert's Trout Quintet with cellist Peter Dauelsberg and violinist Viktoria Mullova
31 July 1983
Gramado (Rio Grande do Sul), Brazil
Brahms 2
with the Orquestra Sinfônica de Porto Alegre, presumably under Eleazar de Carvalho
18 September 1983
Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
Brahms, Intermezzi Op.117 & Sonata No 3 in F minor, Op 5; Rachmaninoff, Variations on a theme by Chopin, Op 22; Liszt Venezia e Napoli: Gondoliera; Tarantella (G 162).
29 October 1983
Muziekcentrum Vredenburg, Utrecht (Holland)
Années de pèlerinage: Deuxième Année (Italie) S.161: Sonetti 47, 104 & 123 del Petrarca
Après une lecture du Dante. Fantasia quasi Sonata (S.161/7)
Sposalizio (S.161/1)
Il Pensieroso (S.161/2)
Canzonetta del Salvator Rosa (S.161/3)
Venezia e Napoli: Supplément aux Années de pèlerinage S.162
17 November 1983
Elmwood Hall, Queen's University, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Brahms, Intermezzi Op.117 & Sonata No 3 in F minor, Op 5; Rachmaninoff, Variations on a theme by Chopin, Op 22; Liszt Venezia e Napoli: Gondoliera; Tarantella (G 162).
There were four encores by Godowsky, including Schubert Rosamunde.
There was also this month (November 1983) in Belfast with the Ulster Orchestra, Bryden Thomson and Jorge Bolet an all-Gershwin concert.
28 November, 1983
Sala Puccini of the Conservatorio di Milano, Milan, Italy
This concert was advertised as being in honour of Godowsky's appearance in Milan in 1913.
Brahms: Three Intermezzi, Op.117; Piano Sonata No.3 in F minor, Op.5
Godowsky: Elegy for the left hand alone
Schubert/Godowsky: Ballet Music from Rosamunde
Godowsky: The Gardens of Buitenzorg (Java Suite, Book III No.2)
Chopin/Godowsky: Four Études
o Op.25 No.1 in A-flat major (Study No.25 in A-flat major)
o Op.10 No.7 in C major (Study No.15 in G-flat major | Nocturne)
o Op.10 No.6 in E-flat minor (Study No.13 in E-flat minor | for the left hand alone)
o Op.10 No.5 in G-flat major (Study No.12 in G-flat major | inversion)
Kreisler/Rachmaninoff: Liebesleid & Liebesfreud (from Three Old Viennese Dances)
3 December, 1983
Salle Gaveau, Paris, France
Brahms: Three Intermezzi, Op.117; Piano Sonata No.3 in F minor, Op.5
Rachmaninoff: Variations on a theme by Chopin, Op.22
Liszt: Tarantella, S.162 No.3 (from Venezia e Napoli)
Sunday, 11 December 1983
Concertgebouw, Amsterdam
as 3 December
Leidsch Dagblad (5 December, 1983) had a big feature with Charles van der Leeuw, in which Jorge stated: 'I played under [Dutch maestro] Eduard van Beinum in Chicago [possibly in June 1955].'
1984
'I've had a frustrating career in many ways. It has come late but it has finally arrived.'
8 March, 1984
Barbican Hall, London
Hungarian Fantasy; Totentanz (Liszt)
LSO with Ivan Fischer
10 March 1984
Barbican Hall, London
Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor
11 March 1984
Barbican Hall, London
Recital incl.Beethoven's "Moonlight" Sonata, Chopin's Barcarolle, Etudes Op.25/1, Op10/3, 5, Liszt...
"Even less easy to forget, however, will be the spiritual insight of the Bénédiction de Dieu dans Ia Solitude, which took us beyond piano playing, almost beyond music."
Max Harrison
14 March 1984
Carnegie Hall, NYC
Schumann Concerto
Czech Philharmonic and Jiří Bělohlávek
30 March 1984
Hering Auditorium, Fairbanks, Alaska
16-22 April: Curtis Institute 60th anniversary
8/9 May 1984
War Memorial Auditorium, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale SO
In May 1984 there was a tour (?) of South America. He may have played in Chile during this month. It may be that Jorge made an appearance in Peru, giving a recital in a bank, Banco Continental (whose principal offices are located in San Isidro, Lima).
An article in Chilean newspaper El Mercurio (17.3.84) led with "there is a great probability that Claudio Arrau will come to Chile this year" and "the great Cuban American pianist Jorge Bolet will play Liszt's two concertos" (May 1984).
11 June 1984
Teatro Cultura Artística, São Paulo (rua Nestor Pestana 196), Brazil
Rachmaninoff's second concerto
Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado/ Eleazar de Carvalho
30 June 1984
Waterloo Village, New Jersey, as part of the Waterloo Festival
Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No.2 in C minor, Op.18
Gerard Schwarz / Waterloo Festival Orchestra
7 July 1984
Salle Louis-Fréchette of the Grand Théâtre de Québec, Canada
Beethoven's 4th and 5th concertos
Simon Streatfeild (sic) and the OSQ
8 July 1984
Salle Octave-Crémazie (Grand Théâtre), Quebec City, Canada
Beethoven sonatas, Moonlight, Les Adieux and Apassionata
14 July 1984
Town Hall, Cheltenham, England
Liszt's Consolations, "a brace of the Etudes d'Execution Transcendante, half a dozen transcriptions of Schubert Lieder and Schubert's Wandererfantasie."
16-20 July 1984
City of London Festival at Bishopsgate Hall, London
Liszt's Benediction de Dieu dans la solitude and Chopin’s third sonata, broadcast on BBC Radio 3
21 July 1984
St Nicholas’ Chapel, King’s Lynn, Norfolk, England.
Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata and Chopin's Barcarolle in F # major Op.60, Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No 12 etc.
In July 1984 he recorded a series of masterclasses on Rachmaninoff's second piano concerto in C minor for the BBC (broadcast November 1985). His performance of the Concerto with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Paavo Berglund, probably recorded in 1984.
6 October 1984
Leeds, England
Piano Concerto (Schumann)
LPO - Klaus Tennstedt
7 October 1984
Royal Festival Hall, London
Piano Concerto (Schumann)
LPO - Klaus Tennstedt
Jorge returned to Poland for a brief visit to the country where he'd last been in May and June 1961.
19/ 20 October 1984
Filharmonia Narodowa, Warsaw (Poland)
Liszt, Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2
Warsaw Philharmonic under the Hungarian Ádám Medveczky.
(The archives of the Warsaw Philharmonic have this concert down for 19/20 October 1985, but Słowo Powszechne reviewed the concert on 15 November 1984. The journal also stated that in 1961 Bolet played in the Poznań Philharmonic (but I haven't - yet - seen that information)
Zycie Warszawy (26.10.1984) notes that:"As an encore, the pianist added Chopin's Nocturne in F-sharp major. 15 No. 1 (beautiful narration!) and Maurycy Moszkowski's miniature "La Jongleuse" (Op. 52 No. 4), little known in our country, which is in the essential repertoire of pianists such as J. Hofmann, L. Godowski, S. Rachmaninoff, and Mischa Levitzki.
22 October 1984
teatro Margherita, Genoa, Italy
including Schubert (Wanderer Fantasy) & Liszt
23, 24 November 1984
Academy of Music, Philadelphia
Philadelphia Orchestra under Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Weber, Konzertstück for piano and orchestra; Franck, Symphonic Variations
1985
'On January 13th and 14th January [1985], Bolet will perform Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 in the Musikhalle Hamburg, and on the 19th in Hamburg and again on January 22nd in the Musikhalle he will be making a guest appearance with a programme he presented on the occasion of his 70th birthday in November in New York: some Debussy Preludes, and Chopin's complete set.'
Hamburger Abendblatt (5.12.1984)
The Tchaikovsky was with the NDR Symphony Orchestra conducted by Günter Wand.
22 January 1985
Großen Musikhalle, Hamburg
Chopin, Preludes Op.28, selection of Debussy Preludes
Tuesday, 29 January 1985
Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
Chopin, Preludes Op.28, selection of Debussy Preludes
(This was the first time I myself heard JB in concert; he played Ballade No. 3 in A flat as one of his encores and in the green room I overheard him saying he was going to Paris the next day)
26 January, 1985
Kongresshalle, Saarbrucken, West Germany (Radio Broadcast | date of performance?)
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No.1 in B-flat minor, Op.23
Myung-Whun Chung / Saarbrucken Radio Symphony Orchestra
8 February 1985
Murphy Recital Hall, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles.
Schubert and Liszt: Three “Consolations,” followed by the “Wanderer” Fantasy, six song-transcriptions and two “Transcendental” Etudes.
28 February 1985
Barbican Hall, London
Piano Concerto no.2 (Brahms)
London Symphony Orchestra under Jeffrey Tate
12 March 1985
Academy of Music, Philadelphia
César Franck, Variations Symphoniques & Carl Maria von Weber's Konzerstück in F minor Philadelphia Orchestra and Rafael Frübeck de Burgos
In 1984/5 Jorge cut his programme schedule down to 12/13 concertos and 2 recital programme, one of which was a selection of Debussy's and Chopin's complete preludes (Op.28).
20 March 1985
Philharmonie, Berlin: Brahms/Handel Variations, Fantasien Op.116, Chopin Ballades.
2 May 1985
Kennedy Centre, Washington DC
incl. Schubert/Liszt songs
4 May 1985
Providence, Rhode Island, USA
Grieg Concerto
Rhode Island Philharmonic, Alvaro Cassuto
10-12 May 1985 in Jesus-Christus-Kirche, Dahlem, Berlin
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly
GRIEG Piano Concerto in A minor Op.16
SCHUMANN Piano Concerto in A minor Op.54
19, 20 May 1985
Montreal, Canada
Rachmaninoff 3
Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal / Charles Dutoit
JB departed San Francisco 9pm on Thursday 27 June 1985 on Qantas QF4, arriving via Honolulu in Sydney, Australia on Saturday (29th) at 7.30am.
2 July 1985
Performing Arts Centre, Brisbane
Recital
4 July 1985
Ford Theatre, Geelong
Recital, Ford Theatre
6, 8, 9 July 1985
Melbourne
Liszt, Concerto No.1 or 2
David Atherton/Wilfred Lehmann (that of 6th broadcast live on radio).
11 July 1985
Llewellyn Hall, Canberra
Bach-Busoni, Ciaccona; Chopin Preludes Op.28; Liszt, Valse impromptu in A flat, Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12
16 July 1985
Town Hall, Sydney
17, 18 July 1985
Sydney Opera House
Georg Tintner
20, 22, 23 July 1985
Sydney Opera House
Beethoven's 4th concerto
Patrick Thomas
Sir Charles Mackerras was meant to have conducted, but he was taken ill, and the conducting was shared between Georg Tintner and Patrick Thomas
24 July 1985
Newcastle, New South Wales
26/27 July 1985
Perth Concert Hall, Perth, Western Australia
Albert Rosen and the Western Australia Symphony Orchestra
29 July 1985
Perth Concert Hall, Perth, Western Australia
Recital
3 August 1985
Dallas Brooks Hall (now demolished), Melbourne
Consolations (Liszt), Wandered Fantasy in C (Schubert), To be Sung on the Water, Hark Hark the Lark, (The Fair Maid of the Mill), The Miller and the Brook, (Swan Song = Schwangesang): Abode (Schubert/trans. Liszt), Transcendental Studies, (i) Harmonies du soir, (ii) Wilde Jagd.
6 August 1985
ABC Odeon, Hobart (Tasmania)
8 August 1985
Sydney Opera House
Liszt, Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12 in C-Sharp Minor, Bach/Busoni, Partita No. 2 for Solo Violin in D Minor, BWV 1004, Chopin, Preludes, Op. 28, Liszt Valse Impromptu, S. 213, Rachmaninov, Variations on a theme of Chopin, Op. 2.
10/13 August 1985
Brisbane
orchestral concert
? August 1985
Adelaide, South Australia
[?] Beethoven's 4th concerto
[?] Adelaide Symphony Orchestra & Patrick Thomas
Jorge departed Sydney on Sunday 18 August for Hong Kong on QF27 at 11.00am
6 September 1985
Uihlein Hall, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Brahms 2
Milwaukee Symphony under Lukas Foss.
12 September 1985
Civic Center, San Rafael, a city located in the North Bay region, San Francisco
Benefit concert at the Marin Veterans Auditorium
Schumann's Carnaval, Liszt's Bénédiction de Dieu was dedicated to the memory of a good friend of Bolet’s who had just passed away. Chopin: Piano Sonata No.3 in B minor, Op.58.
The friend may have been Bob Hagopian (1945- July 1984), a young pianist, based in San Francisco.
19-21 September 1985
Symphony Hall, Atlanta, Georgia
Liszt's Totentanz & Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Op. 43
Atlanta SO under William Fred Scott
7 October, 1985
Recital in São Carlos, Brazil [254 km from the city of São Paulo]. Or is this São Carlos in Portugal?
3 November 1985
Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Chopin, Sonata No. 3 in B minor, op. 58
Jorge substituted at the last minute for an indisposed Maurizio Pollini.
1 December 1985
Royal Festival Hall, London (Sunday afternoon)
Schumann's Carnaval, Liszt & Chopin (Sonata No. 3 in B minor)
'Probably no-one has ever searched into Liszt's Bénédiction de Dieu with such unhurried generosity and other performers would be unwise to try; Bolet unfolded it with infinite tenderness, keeping it aloft with a magically delicate touch.'
(David Murray, Financial Times)
4 December 1985
Philharmonie, Berlin
Schumann's Carnaval, Liszt's Bénédiction de Dieu & Ballade No.2, Chopin's 4 Ballades
1986
'The mysterious reasons which determine the fate of fame'
A European concert tour in January/February 1986
11 [?]January 1986
Ambassador College, Pasadena, USA
Chopin, Frédéric, 1810-1849. Piano concerto no. 1, op. 11, E minor
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; Iona Brown & Kent Nagano
c.9 January 1986
Turin, Italy
Liszt (Ballade no.2 and Bénédiction de Dieu dans la Solitude), Carnaval by Schumann and Sonata No. 3 Op. 58 by Chopin
17 January 1986
Muziekcentrum Vredenburg, Utrecht
Liszt recital
19 January 1986
Concertgebouw, Amsterdam
Liszt recital
23 January 1986
St David's Hall Cardiff, Wales
Liszt the Benediction De Dieu Dans La Solitude and Ballade No 2 Schumann's Carnaval and four Ballades by Chopin' (as Berlin, December 1985)
3 February 1986
Hanley Museum, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, UK
Schumann’s Carnaval, Liszt's Bénédiction de Dieu dans la Solitude, Chopin's Third Sonata in B minor
'Cynics sneer that Liszt's religion was more religiosity, but this piece, as interpreted last night, touched levels of visionary contemplation usually associated with late Beethoven.'
Eric Snape, Staffordshire Sentinel, 4.2.1986)
8/9 February 1986
The Queen's Hall, Edinburgh/City Hall, Glasgow
Chopin's first piano concerto
Scottish Chamber Orchestra/ Wilfried Boettcher
A simple and moving Bizet Adagietto (in Godowsky's surprisingly straightforward arrangement) was the encore.
ort, Maine.
7 March 1986
Curtis Institute, Phiadelphia
incl. Grieg, Brahms (Ballades), Liszt and Chopin.
3 April 1986
Carnegie Hall, New York
Chopin's and Brahms's Ballades (the latter's 4 Ballades Op. 10, written in 1854) and Edward Grieg's Ballade Variations on a Norwegian Melody, Op. 24 (1875-1876)
5 April 1986
McMillin Theater, Columbia University, New York City
Liszt Centennial Celebrations
Benediction de Dieu dans la Solitude, Ballade #2 in B minor, the Petrarch Sonetti 104 and 123, and the Dante Fantasia, quasi Sonata
9-10 April 1986
Concertgebouw, Amsterdam
Variations Symphoniques of César Franck in Amsterdam
with Riccardo Chailly.
These would seem to be Bolet's only appearances with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, according to the online archives. A recording for Deca was made (along with the Symphony in D minor) in Grote Zaal, Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, 7-11 April 1986.
11 April 1986
Muziekcentrum Vredenburg, Utrecht, Holland
Variations Symphoniques of César Franck
with Riccardo Chailly
15 April 1986
Donizetti Theatre, Bergamo (Italy)
A Liszt concerto No.1 & Totentanz
Orchestra Sinfonica della RAI di Torino under Rudolf Barshai.
Cancelled. There seems to have been an orchestra strike/ industrial action.
So Jorge played a solo Liszt recital instead, including Bénédiction de Dieu, Fantasia quasi sonata Après une lecture de Dante, Ballade No. 2 in B minor
25 April, 1986 with the Münchner Philharmoniker and Hans Werner Henze
17 June 1986
Notre Dame Basilica, Montreal, Canada
Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30
Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal under Charles Dutoit
26 (?) June 1986
Afternoon masterclass at the Library of Congress, Washington DC
'The Franz Liszt Centennial Celebration will be the major musical event in Washington this week, with free concerts, lectures and master classes at the Library of Congress, the Washington Cathedral and St. Matthew's Cathedral. On the evening of 26th, Jorge gave his recital.'
21 July, 1986
Montpellier, France
Schubert/Liszt: Fantasy in C major, D.760 (Op.15) (S.366) (Wanderer)
John Eliot Gardiner / Orchestre de l’Opéra de Lyon
31 July 1986
London Proms in the Royal Albert Hall
Schubert/Liszt: Fantasy in C major, D.760 (Op.15) (S.366) (Wanderer)
James Conlon and the London Symphony Orchestra
11 August 1986
Edinburgh Festival, Usher Hall, Scotland
Beethoven, Piano Concerto No.5 in E flat, "Emperor"
BBC Symphony and Sir John Pritchard
During the summer of 1986, JB made his first appearance on Friday 15 August at the 6th Festival International de Piano, La Roque d’Anthéron, France, with a Liszt recital at 9.30pm in Parc du Château de Florans, Aix-en-Provence.
Bolet also reportedly said: 'Now you see, now I have been discovered in France and I cannot make all the dates they want.' (Until the 1980s, the only performance I've so far located is in April 1967.)
18 August 1986
IMF Luzern/ Internationale Musikfestwochen Luzern, Switzerland
all-Liszt recital incl."Après une lecture de Dante" and "Venezia e Napoli"
29 August 1986
Teatro Carignano, Turin (Italy)
Haydn, Variations in F minor, Hob.XVII:6 and Piano Sonata E flat major Hob XVI:52 , Schumann, Fantasy in C, Chopin, 4 Ballades
18 September 1986
Salle Olivier Messiaen, Paris
Liszt, Concerto pour piano et orchestre n°2 en la majeur
"Nouvel" orchestre philharmonique de Radio France/ Marek Janowski
10 October 1986
de Doelen, Rotterdam
Haydn, Grieg's Ballade in G minor (Ballade i form av variasjoner over en norsk folkevise), Franck, Prelude, Aria & Finale, Liszt, Venezia e Napoli
16 October 1986
Berlin, Philharmonie (same programme as 10th)
? November 1986
London
as 10th October?
A London recital featured a favourite repertoire piece, championed earlier also by Godowsky.'The recital high point, however, was Bolet's sensitively coloured account of Grieg's G minor Ballade.' (Richard Morrison, The Times)
27 November 1986
London
Brahms' second piano concerto
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Hungarian/American Antal Dorati
30 November 1986
Avery Fisher Hall, NYC
as 10th October
Jorge was filling in for a canceled recital by Martha Argerich, and he zipped in between European engagements to do so. (Will Crutchfield, The New York Times 2.12.86)
3 December 1986
Ambassador College, Pasadena, USA.
Grieg, Edvard, 1843-1907. Ballade i form av variasjoner over en norsk folkevise
Liszt, Franz, 1811-1886. Ballade no. 2, B minor
Brahms, Johannes, 1833-1897. Ballades op. 10
Chopin, Frédéric, 1810-1849. Ballades
1987
8 January 1987
Carnegie Hall, NYC
Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat and his Hungarian Fantasia
Orchestra of St. Luke's/ Julius Rudel
10 January 1987
Royce Hall, Los Angeles
as 20 January.
20 January 1987
Salle Pleyel, Paris, France
Haydn: Andante & Variations in F minor, Hob.XVII:6 (Un Piccolo Divertimento)
Haydn: Piano Sonata No.62 in E-flat major, Hob.XVI:52
Schumann: Fantasy in C major, Op.17
Grieg: Ballade in G minor (in the form of Variations on a Norwegian Folk Song), Op.24
Liszt: Venezia e Napoli, S.162
22 January 1987
Teatro La Fenice, Venice
Programme as 20 January
Jorge's only appearance (?) in this illustrious house (1792).
24 January 1987
Palau de la Música, Barcelona
Grieg, Brahms, Liszt, Chopin.
2 February 1987
St John, Smith Square, London at 1pm.
Grieg, Ballade in G minor, Op 24 Rachmaninoff, Four Preludes; Polka de W. R. (advertised but apparently not played); Kreisler, transcribed Rachmaninoff, Liebesleid; Liebesfreud.
7 February 1987
City Hall, Sheffield (England)
Liszt, Piano Concerto No. 1
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Libor Pesek. Jorge would also play Chopin's Ballades 2 & 4 as encores (?)
10 February 1987
Manchester Free Trade Hall, England
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
20 February 1987
De Vereeniging, Nijmegen (Holland)
Recital (as 10 January)
22 February 1987
Main Hall (Grote Zaal) of the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam
Recital (as 10 January)
Australian tour
Jorge Bolet will appear with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra conducted by Hubert Soudant:
28 February 1987
Melbourne
Beethoven 3 in C minor, Rachmaninoff/Paganini
4 March 1987
Melbourne
Beethoven 4 in G major, Schubert/Liszt Wanderer
7 March 1987
Melbourne Concert Hall
Beethoven, Piano Concerto No.5 in E flat, "Emperor"
9 March 1987
City Hall Concert Hall, Hong Kong
Haydn's Andante con variazioni Hob XVII/6 and Sonata in E flat, Hob XVI/52; Schumann's Fantasy in C major Op. 17; Grieg, Ballade in G minor Op. 24 and ending with Liszt's Venezia e Napoli.
(Jorge had performed once before in HK, on 6 July 1965 during his first tour of Australia.)
Singapore? & Seoul
Concerts in Singapore on Friday and Saturday,13/14 March 1987 were advertised in late 1986 (The Straits Times, 22 December): Rachmaninoff 3 with the Singapore Symphony under Choo Hoey, followed by the challengingly severe Symphony No 4 in F minor by Ralph Vaughan Williams (a Singapore première in the presence of the composer's widow, Ursula VW). This was to be in Victoria Concert Hall, the oldest concert hall in Singapore. But Jorge does not appear to have played there.
Jorge played in Seoul, South Korea with orchestra between his two Hong Kong engagements, as he confirmed to the Winston-Salem Journal, 3 May 1987.
[Jae-Dong Jeong was Music Director during 1974~1990.]. But no details so far.
18/19 March 1987
City Hall Concert Hall, Hong Kong
Schubert/Liszt's Wanderer Fantasy (an arrangement of Schubert's Fantasie in C, D760)
HK Philharmonic under Kenneth Jean.
'Bolet was called out for an unheard-of eight curtain calls' (South China Morning Post)
22 March 1987
Melbourne Concert Hall
recital (as 10 January)
24 March 1987
Adelaide, South Australia
recital
26 March 1987
Sydney
recital
28 March 1987
Perth Concert Hall, Perth, Western Australia
César Franck's Symphonic Variations; Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto no. 2 in C minor Op. 18
West Australian Symphony Orchestra under Dobbs Franks (actually Ptrick Thomas)
The Age, Melbourne, Saturday 28 February 1987 published an interview with Jorge in his suite of the Hyatt Hotel, on Collins Street, during which he told that he'd just performed in a bank in Saarbrucken, West Germany. (He also mentioned somewhere else a recital in a bank in Peru.)
During this tour, Jorge was filmed in a Chopin & Liszt recital at Rippon Lea House and Gardens, 192 Hotham Street, Elsternwick, Victoria 3185.
The previous year (1986) Larry Tucker (Columbia Artists Management) had sent a telegram to a Japanese agent Masahide Kajimoto dated 4 April: 'Mr Mac Finley, who is business manager of the great pianist Jorge Bolet, will be in Tokyo May 7 and 8 [1986]. It is my hope that you could meet with him to discuss possible tour with Mr Bolet in the near future. He will be touring the Orient in March 1987 and still has March 8-11 as well as 28-31 available.'
Kajimoto Concert Management had been founded in May 1951 in Osaka by Masahide's father, Naoyasu. It was based in the Tokaido Ginza Bldg., Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo. In 1970 it had extended the first invitation to Japan to Martha Argerich; Vladimir Horowitz (1983, 1986), Herbert von Karajan (1984, 1988). An email to me (April 2022) from the present Kajimoto CM states: 'We have checked our files, and it seems Kajimoto has never worked with Mr. Bolet. According to our senior colleagues, he might have worked with either Kanbara or another agency in Japan, but both of them do not exist anymore.' (It transpires that Jorge did indeed work with Kanbara: see November 1988 for his third and final appearance in Japan.)
Publicity states 'Jorge Bolet is making a return visit to New Zealand to perform as guest soloist with the NZSO. He was last here in 1964.'
4 April 1987
Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington
Beethoven C minor concerto (No. 3)
New Zealand SO, Franz-Paul Decker, conductor.
7 April, 1987
Town Hall, Wellington
11 April 1987
Town Hall, Auckland on Saturday 11 April.
9-20 April 1987
Video recordings of Bolet performing were made by Frank Bell in the Georgia-Pacific Center Auditorium, Atlanta, Georgia
21-22 May 1987 St.Eustache, Montreal (recording session)
Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Charles Dutoit
[a] TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Concerto No.1 in B flat minor Op.23
[b] RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No.2 in C minor Op.18
8-10 June 1987 St.Barnabas, Woodside Park, London: recording
CHOPIN Preludes Op.28; four Nocturnes Op.27, Op.55/1 & Op62/2
14 June 1987
Teatro alla Scala, Milan
Mendelssohn Prelude & Fugue in E minor, Chopin Preludes Op.28, Franck, Prelude, Chorale & Fugue, Liszt paraphrases on Donizetti & Verdi).
This is Jorge's only appearance in that legendary opera house.
7/8 August 1987
Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles.
Tchaikovsky concerto
Montreal Symphony under Charles Dutoit.
30 August 1987
The Aberdeen Press & Journal (12.8.87) reports that JB will record a recital in Findhorn, Morayshire (Scotland) for future broadcast on the BBC. This is the Chopin-Godowsky recital (coupled with an interview by Michael Oliver) which in the end went out in January 1989.
22, 23, 24 and 27 October 1987
Jorge's final appearance with the New York Philharmonic (Erich Leinsdorf).
Grieg / Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16
1 Nov 1987
Palermo, Sicily
4 November 1987
Αuditorium RAI « ARTURO TOSCANINI », Via Rossini/Piazza Rossaro, Turin
Mendelssohn (Preludio e fuga in mi minore e Rondò capriccioso in mi maggiore op. 14), Beethoven (Sonata in fa minore op. 54 «Appassionata»), Franck (Prelude, choral et tugue) e Liszt (Rémlniscences de Norma, tratte dal Bellini).
13 November 1987
Barbican Centre, London.
Rachmaninoff's Concerto No. 2
Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal and Charles Dutoit
20 November 1987
Sainte-Etienne, France
recital
23 November
Theatre des Champs-Elysees , Paris
including Beethoven's Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op.75 Appassionata, Franck's Prélude, choral et fugue and Bellini/Liszt Réminiscences de Norma)
4 December 1987
Robert-Schumann Saal, Düsseldorf, Germany
recital
1988
The Carmel Pine Cone (29 December ,1987) had announced that Jorge would play on Sunday 3 January 1988 in Sunset Theatre, Carmel, California.[?]
30 January 1988
The Congress Theatre, Eastbourne, England
Royal Philharmonic and Witold Rowicki
1-4 February 1988
Walthamstow Assembly Hall, London
César Franck: Prélude, Aria et Final & Prélude, Choral et Fugue are recorded for Decca
29 February/Tuesday 1 March 1988
(the Tuesday at both 10.30am and in the evening)
Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, Place des Arts, Montreal, Canada
Grieg's Piano Concerto
Jorge had been due to play with Mexican maestro Eduardo Mata and Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. But in the end, Mata was indisposed, and the Czech conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Libor Pesek (aged 55) took over.
4 March 1988
Carnegie Hall NYC
included Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Op. 57, "Appassionata" (1804-1805) and Vincenzo Bellini (1801—1835) Réminiscences de Norma, S. 393 (1841 arr. Franz Liszt).
13 March 1988
Royal Festival Hall, London
inc. Beethoven Sonata No.31 Op. 110 in A flat and Bellini/Liszt, Réminiscences de Norma
4 April 1988
Carolyn Blount Theater, Montgomery, Alabama USA
MENDELSSOHN Prelude & Fugue in E minor Op.35/1, LISZT Réminiscences de Norma S394
FRANCK Prélude, Choral et Fugue (recorded)
11 April 1988
Bern Casino Hall, Bern, Switzerland
Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Franck; Liszt
22 April 1988
Gothenburg/Göteborgs konserthuset, Sweden
Edvard Grieg, Piano Concerto
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra/ Riccardo Chailly
24 April 1988
Konserthuset, Stockholm.
Edvard Grieg, Piano Concerto
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra/ Riccardo Chailly
30 April/ 2 & 3 May 1988
Auditorio Pio, Rome
Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Op. 43
Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia under David Shallon
(the second of only two appearances with this orchestra, the first being in January 1973)
7[?] May 1988
Bamberg Symphony under Rudolf Barshai in one of the two Liszt concertos.
12 May 1988
Salle Pleyel Paris
Debussy and Chopin Preludes.
14 May 1988
Schwetzinger Schloss, Rokokotheather; Baden-Württemberg, Germany
including Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Op. 57 'Appassionata'; and Bellini/Liszt, Réminiscences de Norma, S. 394.
16 May 1988
Main hall of the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam
Mendelssohn, Prélude and fugue opus 35 no. 1, Rondo Capriccioso opus 14, Beethoven Sonata opus 57 Appassionata. Franck, Prelude, Choral et Fugue. Liszt, Réminiscences de Norma, S. 394.
20/ 21 May 1988
Musiektheater, The Hague
Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30
Residentie-Orkest and Bruno Weill
26 May 1988
The Dome, Brighton, England
Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Franck, Liszt
9 June 1988
Ascona, on the northern shore of Lake Maggiore, in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland
Liszt, Bénédiction de Dieu dans la Solitude; Wagner/Liszt, Tannhäuser Overture; Schubert/Liszt, 3 songs, and Schubert, Sonata in A, D 959
In June 1988, Bolet gave two concerts in the great Turkish city, once Byzantium, famously Constantinople, and - since 1930 - Istanbul.
21 and 23 June 1988
Atatürk Cultural Center, Büyük Salonu (Large Hall), Istanbul, Turkey
incl. Mendelssohn, Beethoven's "Appassionata" Op.57, F Minor No: 23, Franck's Prelüd, Koral ve Füg and Bellini/Liszt, Reminiscences de Norma.
'It turned out that we were listening at the time to two of the last concerts of Jorge Bolet, who was discovered in Turkey in the autumn of his life by giving two piano recitals during the International Istanbul Festival on 21-23 June 1988 in our country.'(Cumhuriyet obituary 1990)
25 June 1988
Meslay [nr. Tours in the Loire Valley], France
Jorge replaced an ailing Claudio Arrau in recital
10 August 1988
Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles.
Replacing the ill Vladimir Ovchinnikov
incl. Beethoven’s “Appassionata” Sonata and Liszt’s “Reminiscences de ‘Norma’ “, Cesar Franck’s “Prelude, choral et fugue”
A single encore: Godowsky’s transcription of the Adagietto from Bizet’s “L’Arlesienne”
26 August 1988
Teatro Odeion, Pompeii, Italy
Liszt, Schubert recital
Publicity material for the 1988/89 season - Jorge's last as it turned out - includes Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal (Charles Dutoit), Orchestre National de France, Monte Carlo Philharmonic (Riccardo Chailly), Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, San Francisco Symphony and the NHK Symphony (Tokyo), recitals at Carnegie Hall, the Royal Festival Hall, Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Alte Oper Frankfurt and Tokyo’s Suntory Hall; appearances at the Bath and Roque d’Antheron Festivals, tours of the Far East and Australia and a tour of Belgium and Germany with the BBC Philharmonic conducted by Sir Edward Downes and Bernhard Klee. Michael Edgley International Ltd. advertised the upcoming performances of Jorge Bolet - 75th Birthday Tour to Australasia in October 1989 - but this was of course cancelled when Jorge retired from the stage in June that year.
17 September 1988
Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool, England
Grieg, PIano Concerto
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic under Polish conductor Grzegorz Nowak
17 September, 1988, French television broadcast a studio recording entitled Jorge Bolet: Prince du Piano, which features an interview hosted by Alain Duault and three works:
Chopin: Ballade No.3 in A-flat major, Op.47
Kreisler/Rachmaninoff: Liebesfreud
Liszt: Réminiscences de Norma (Bellini), S.394
A selection of Debussy's Préludes was recorded 21-23 September 1988, in Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco.
2 October, 1988
Sunset Theatre, Carmel, California
Liszt: Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude, S.173 No.3 (from Harmonies Poétiques et Religieuses)
Schubert: Piano Sonata No.20 in A major, D.959
Schubert/Liszt: Four Song Transcriptions
Wagner/Liszt: Overture to Tannhäuser, S.442
One of the two encores does not feature regularly in JB's recitals, a Schubert Impromptu
Bizet/Godowsky: Adagietto from L’Arlésienne
Schubert: Impromptu in G-flat major, D.899 No.3 (Op.90 No.3)
5-8 October 1988
Davies Hall, San Francisco
Chopin's Piano Concert No. 1
San Francisco Symphony/ Andrew Massey.
11 October 1988
Victoria Hall, Hanley, England
Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
BBC Philharmonic and Sir Edward Downes
17 October 1988
De Prinsen van de Musiek Symfonie and Bernhard Klee (Belgium?)
18-26 October 1988: various concerts in Germany in Bielefeld, Braunschweig, Kassel and Friederichshafen and Frankfurt with the BBC Philharmonic under Berhard Klee and Sire Edward Downes.
[?] November 1988
Victoria Hall, Geneva, Switzerland
Liszt 1
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande under Erich Leinsdorf
The reviewer expressed an opinion that this might be JB's first appearance in Geneva (but this is not so, as he had certainly been there in 1974 and 1975.
En bis, Jorge Bolet parvient, dans les quelques mesures d'un Nocturne de Chopin, au sublime par l'intensité de la poésie la plus pure. Quelques secondes réellement bouleversantes.'
"As an encore, Jorge Bolet attained, in the few bars of a nocturne by Chopin, the sublime by the intensity of the purest poetry. A few truly heartbreaking seconds." (The Nocturne is presumably a favourite encore, Op.15/2 in F # major.)
2 November, 1988
Suntory Hall, Tokyo, Japan
Liszt: Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude, S.173 No.3 (from Harmonies Poétiques et Religieuses), Piano Sonata in B minor, S.178, Six Consolations, S.172 and Réminiscences
de Norma (Bellini), S.394
9 and 10 November 1988 (Wed/Thurs)
NHK Hall, Shibuya Tokyo
Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30 (filmed on 9th)
The concert also included Berlioz's overture Les Francs-juges Op. 3 and Messiaen's Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum.
NHK Symphony under David Atherton
Il Piccolo di Trieste 5 October 1988 had announced a recital on 25 November in Monfalcone (Friuli-Venezia Giulia, northern Italy): the first recital in this region:
Schubert, Schubert/Liszt, Wagner/Liszt, Tannhäuser
6 December 1988
Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Paris
Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30
Orchestre Colonne under Philippe Entremont
1989
5 January 1989
Monte Carlo
Orchestre Phil. de Monte-Carlo under Gianluigi Gelmetti
On Sunday afternoon, 22 January 1989, there was a television broadcast in Britain on BBC2 entitled MASTER CRAFTSMEN - JORGE BOLET AND LEOPOLD GODOWSKY. It was probably recorded in August 1988.
30 January -2 February 1989
St.Barnabas, Woodside Park, London: recording session
SCHUBERT Piano Sonata in A minor Op.143 D784; Piano Sonata in A D959
Sunday 5 February 1989
Royal Festival Hall, London
Jorge gave what turned out to be his last solo London recital
incl. Schubert A major Sonata D959, Liszt, Benediction; Wagner/Liszt, Tannhäuser
6 February 1989, Leverkusen, Germany
Recital as 5 February
14 March 1989
Royal Festival Hall, London
Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto no. 2 in C minor Op. 18
Philharmonia and Vladimir Ashkenazy
23 March 1989
Grote Zaal, Vredenburg, Utrecht (Holland)
Liszt, Benediction; Schubert D959, Wagner/Liszt, Tannhäuser.
In Godowsky's Elegy for the Left Hand (encore)the Cuban stumbled over yet another memory lapse. "I'm terribly sorry" he mumbled in defeat, and then finished his job with the courage of despair.' (Bas van Putten in De Telegraf)
In Godowsky's Elegie voor de linkerhand struikelde de Cubaan definitief over de zoveelste geheugenstoornis. „I'm terribly sorry" mompelde hij verslagen, om vervolgens met de moed der wanhoop zijn karwei af te maken.
This was to be the final performance of Jorge in Holland, the country where his European career under the direction of the great impresario Dr Géza de Koos had begun all those years ago, in May 1935.
16 April 1989
Carnegie Hall, NYC, for the last time
Liszt's Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude (1848-1853), following this with Schubert's Piano Sonata in A Major, D. 959 (1828). Then some Schubert/Liszt songs and ending with Wagner's Overture to Tannhäuser, S. 442 (1848 arr. Franz Liszt).
16/ 17 May 1989
Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, Montréal (Canada)
Chopin, Piano Concerto No.2 in F minor
Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal and Charles Dutoit
In 25-26 May 1989, the two Chopin concertos were recorded in St. Eustache, Montreal with Charles Dutoit.
5 June 1989
Theatre Royal Bath, Somerset (England)
Schubert & Liszt
This was his final performance in Britain, and it took place in the famous city of honey-coloured stone, a spa named Aquae Sulis ("the waters of Sulis") in AD c.60 by the Romans, who built baths and a temple in the valley of the River Avon. (Bath became popular as a spa town in the Georgian era, 1714 to c. 1830. Jane Austen spent several years living and writing in Bath; two of her novels are set in the city - Northanger Abbey and Persuasion.)
8 June 1989
Philharmonie, Berlin
Liszt's Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude (1848-1853), following this with Schubert's Piano Sonata in A Major, D. 959 (1828). Then some Schubert/Liszt songs and ending with Wagner's Overture to Tannhäuser, S. 442 (1848 arr. Franz Liszt).
Jorge Bolet had given his last public recital. He now retired from the stage through illness.