1960-61
5 January 1960
Sunset Auditorium, Carmel, California
7, 8 (at 2pm) January 1960
Philharmonic Auditorium, Los Angeles
Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini
Los Angeles PO Alfred Wallenstein, conductor [also Ned Rorem's third symphony]
"A giant in physique Bolet is also an artistic giant. He played with an intimacy so delicate so refined that one was led into the inner sanctum of the composer's intent. [Of the Rorem] This is a magnificent contemporary work - modern music at its best."
Rachel Morton, Press-Telegram (Long Beach), 8 January 1960, who wrote of the Long Beach performance: But the sensation of the evening was the. playing of Jorge Bolet The audience was quick to recognize one of the greatest pianists of our day. What the man looked like we shall never know, as he played in semidarkness. The Long Beach concert hall Is the only one I know that uses no spotlight on performing artists. Can't something be done about it?
There was a private party for the press corps organised by film producer William Goetz in conection with the release of "Song Without Words". One studio official recalled how an unseen artist also a great one once stole another Columbia picture. That, of course, was the late Al Jolson, who sang for the sound track of his own life story as portrayed on the screen by Larry Parks.
10 January 1960
San Diego, California
Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini [?]
Los Angeles PO Alfred Wallenstein, conductor
17 January 1960
Municipal Auditorium, Long Beach (coastal city in s.-e. Los Angeles County, California
Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini
Los Angeles PO Alfred Wallenstein, conductor
9 February 1960
Granada Theatre, Santa Barbara, California
Boris Blacher, Concertante Musik Op.10 (1937) - this is a mistake, Jorge is
not mentioned in the review of the concert.
Los Angeles PO /Eugen Jochum
February 1960
Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor
New Orleans Philharmonic under Alexander Hilsberg.
19 February 1960
Charlotte Amalie High School auditorium,Virgin Islands.
3/4 March 1960
San Francisco Opera House, with the orchestra under Enrique Jorda
John La Montaine, Piano Concerto and Liszt 1
18 March 1960
Universitets Aula, Oslo, Norway
Rachmaninoff's Paganini Variations.
Oslo Philharmonic and Odd Grünner-Hegge
The Norwegian critics did not care for Rachmaninoff's composition, but called Jorge "en virtuos av Fro Musicas nåde", a virtuoso of the Muse's grace.
21 March 1960
Fredriksstad, Norway
Chopin's 4 Ballades, Mozart's Sonata in D (K.576), Liszt, La Campanella, Un Sospiro, Rigoletto paraphrase
26 March 1960
Royal Festival Hall, London
Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18
Royal Philharmonic and Anatole Fistoulari
15 May 1960
West Berlin
Beethoven's “Emperor”
Berliner Symphonisches Orchester, conducted by Carl August Bünte (1925-2018)
In an interview with the Dutch newspaper de Telegraaf on 1 December 1960, we are told that 'for a few days, the American-Cuban pianist Jorge Bolet has been in Amsterdam for a short holiday to rest from a tiring tour he has been making in the Scandinavian countries in recent weeks.
18 September 1960 [Sunday at 2pm]
Villa Montalvo, Saratoga, Ca.
Recital will include an andante in F major by Beethoven, Haydn's E flat major sonata, Franck's prelude, chorale and fugue; Liszt's "La Campanella," "Un Sospiro" and "Mephisto" waltz.
"With ideal Indian summer weather forecast and lively activity reported in the request for tickets the open air concert by world renowned pianist Jorge Bolet at Villa Montalvo in Saratoga this Sunday afternoon seems destined for success equal to highest expectations says mutic committee chairman Mrs A A Payette" Los Gatos Times 15.9.1960
18 October 1960
Santa Rosa High School
23 October 1960
Russ Auditorium, San Diego
San Diego Symphony/ Earl Bernard Murray
(Other concerts will be given on December 20 when Darius Milhaud will appear as guest composer-conductor.)
19 December 1960
Jorge had flown to Sweden from Paris
SvD [Svenska Dagbladet] Opera Festival,in Stockholm's Royal Theatre
Liszt, Hungarian Fantasy.
'Mr. Bolet and Ehrling met for the first time in Oslo two weeks ago. It is possible that they will meet again in England in March. Both have concerts there.'
1961
6 January 1961
Lobero Theater, 33 E. Canon Perdido St.,Santa Barbara, CA
Chopin, Mozart (K576), Liszt
Mr Bolet arrived by automobile today from his home in Palo Alto.
7 January 1961
Beverly Hills Auditorium, Los Angeles, CA
"If he sometimes forgot himself and made Mozart sound like Chopin and Chopin like Liszt, there were always evident the marks of a strong and vivid musical personality" Los Angeles Mirror
Paul Whiteman, the dean of American jazz maestros, will appear on the Bell Telephone Hours Almanac for February over NBS-TV, Friday, February 3. to conduct the Bell Telephone Orchestra in George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, with Jorge Bolet as piano soloist. Whiteman conducted the concert on February 12, 1924, at which the Rhapsody was first played, with Gershwin as soloist.
28 February 1961
Liszt, Concerto No. 1 and Hungarian Fantasy with the Kansas City Philharmonic & Schwieger, in observance of the 150 anniversary of Liszt’s birth [1811] and the 75th anniversary of his death [1886]
7 March 1961
South Junior High, Fort Dodge, Iowa
"A terrific sleet and ice storm such as they had not seen for a long time" Perhaps JB had to cancel, as there's no review in the Journal.
20 March 1961
Amsterdam recital
24 March 1961
Festival Hall, London.
Beethoven 4 and Liszt's Hungarian Fantasy with the LSO and Charles Mackerras
25 (or 29?) March 1961
Hochschule für Musik, Berlin: Liszt recital, Charlottenburg (under Heinicke Konzert Direktion)
Funerailles, Sonata, 7 Transcendental Etudes.
He played encores on an old Bechstein from Weimar, on which Liszt himself played. An evening with Bolet is almost as exciting as a Hitchcock movie. This pianist possesses a hypnotic power over his audience. 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)
16 April 1961
2:30pm broadcast on BBC Home Service Basic.
A concerto with the BBC Scottish Orchestra conducted by Norman Del Mar.
25 April 1961
Sala Acapulco, Gijón, Spain [?]
Recital
1 May 1961
Concertgebouw, Amsterdam
Liszt 1 in E flat and Brahms 2 in B flat
with his brother Alberto and the Rotterdam Philharmonic.
18 May 1961
Beethoven's Emperor Concerto
Royal Festival Hall, London with the LSO and Colin Davis
1961 cont. (Poland)
From 26 May to 19 June, 1961 Jorge made his first trip behind the Iron Curtain, to Poland where he gave 10 concerts in six major cities starting in Kraków on the 26th. There were eight concerto dates with orchestra and two solo recitals.
Echo Krakowa (11 May) had announced Jorge's tour and said that the first concerts were in Kraków on Friday/Saturday 26 & 27 May, after the pianist had played in Spain, West and East (GDR) Germany, Norway and Holland. This would imply that he has already slipped behind the Iron Curtain.
26/27 May 1961
Filharmonia, Kraków (Poland)
Mozart K491 [= No.24] and Beethoven No. 3 (both in C minor) with Andrzej Markowski and the Orkiestra Filharmonii Krakowskiej. Liszt (Campanella) as an encore.
Jorge would meet up again with Andrzej Markowski in Mexico City, in November 1978.
He may have appeared in Łódź on 30 May.
2 June 1961
Sokolska Street, Katowice,
Hendrik Andriessen - Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Kuhnau, W.A. Mozart - Piano Concerto No.20 in D minor KV 466, Albert Roussel - Suite in F major op. 33, R. Strauss - Symphonic poem "Don Juan" op. 20.
Silesian Philharmonic Orchestra [Orkiestra Symfoniczna Filharmonii Śląskiej] & Henri Arends
3/4 June 1961
Sala Pod Orlem (Eagle Hall), Bielsko-Biała
Same as 2 June
6 June 1961
Philharmonic Hall, Szczecin
Beethoven, Haydn and Franck, Liszt, 'including the captivating Spanish Rhapsody'.
9-10 June, 1961
Gdańsk
Liszt A major Concerto No.2
Gerd Puls and the Symphony Orchestra of the Baltic State Opera and Philharmonic (Orkiestra Symfoniczna Państwowej Opery i Filharmonii Bałtyckiej)
12 June 1961
Klub KWADRAT (Cooperative Club), Jelenia Góra
16 and 17 June 1961
Warsaw
Liszt's Concerto No. 2
Warsaw Philharmonic under Georges Sebastian
1 August 1961 (cancelled)
Red Rocks Festival, Denver Colorado
Concerto with Denver Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Saul Caston.
In the event, due to inclement rainy weather, the concert - postponed to the next night - was eventually cancelled.
Late August 1961?
West Berlin, on the 150th anniversary of Liszt's birth
The decision was taken by the German Democratic Republic [East Germany] to build a Wall. Work began in the early hours of 13 August 1961.
17/18 September 1961
Bergen, Norway
Liszt, Concerto for piano and orchestra no. 2 in A major and the Hungarian Fantasy.
Conductor Carl Garaguly
21 September 1961
Atlantic Hall, Stavanger (Norway)
Recital incl. Grieg's Ballade Op.24 in G minor, Beethoven's Appassionata
Jorge appears to have recorded Mozart's Piano Concerto, C minor, KV 491 with Trondheim Kammerorkester and Zubin Mehta, for this was broadcast in March 1962.
22 September 1961
Festiviteten Hall, Haugesund, Norway
Recital
24 September 1961
Royal Festival Hall, London
Liszt 1
London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Malcolm Sargent
5 October 1961
Birmingham Town Hall, England
Brahms 2 with the CBSO under Hugo Rignold
6 October 1961
A recital in Arnhem, Holland at the Musis Sacrum
10 October 1961
Coventry Festival, Warwickshire, England
Beethoven 4
Josef Krips & the London Philharmonic
17 October 1961
Peabody Conservatory of Music , Baltimore
Candlelight Concert
23 October 1961
Hall of Mirrors, Hotel Netherland-Hilton, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Matinée musicale at 11am
His 'muscular program' consisted of the Ballade of Grieg, and music of the 25th below.
25 October 1961
Carnegie Hall, NYC
César Franck, Prélude, aria et final (1886-1887),
Liszt's Sonata, and the Mephisto Waltz
Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Op. 57, Appassionata
30 October 1961
Norfolk, Virgina, with the Norfolk Symphony and Edgar Schenkman
17 November 1961
Akron, Ohio
22 November 1961
Greenwood, Mississippi, recital
28/30 Nov 1961
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham SO/ Arthur Winograd;
4/5 December 1961
Waukesha, Wisconsin
with the Waukesha Symphony Orchestra
13 December 1961
Kalispell, a city in northwest Montana.
The recital included Grieg's Ballade, Franck's Prelude, Aria and Finale, Beethoven's Appassionata and a Liszt group
1962
22 January 1962
Banning High School auditorium, Banning, California
Franz Liszt. Edward Grieg. Cesar Franck and Ludvig van Beethoven
1 February 1962
Oil City, Pennsylvania
Recital
28 February 1962
Twichell Auditorium, Spartanburg, South Carolina USA
including Grieg's Ballade, Franck's Prelude, Aria and Final
10 March 1962
Dame Auditorium, Belmont
20 March 1962
Amsterdam recital in the Grote Zaal of the Concertgebouw.
Liszt's Sonata in B minor, 6 Transcendental Etudes
It was billed as a Liszt recital to celebrate 150th anniversary of the composer's birth, though he was born 22 October 1811.
24 March 1962
Hochschule für Musik, Berlin (Germany)
Chopin evening
(Sonata No. 3 in B minor, 4 Ballades, Nocturne Op.27, Fantasy Op.49 in F minor)
28 March 1962
Rotterdam Philharmonic under André Rieu in the Rivièrahal.
29 March 1962
Festival Hall, London
Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op.18 with LSO & Anatole Fistoulari
1 April 1962
A recital in the Diligentia, The Hague
12 April 1962
Recital in the hall of the Rijnhotel, Rotterdam, incl. Chopin's Sonata No. 3 in B minor Op.58, Beethoven's Appassionata and Liszt's Mephisto Waltz.
28 April 1962
Konzertsaal, Hochschule für Musik, Berlin
Klavierabend (Liszt, Chopin)
19 May 1962
6th Gulbenkian Festival of Music, Coliseu, Lisbon (Portugal)
Liszt 2 {+ Lalo, Roi d'Ys, Faure, Pelleas et Mellisande etc.]
Orquestra Sinfonica da Emissora Nacional/ Paul Paray
Diário de Lisboa 20.5.1962: Jorge Bolet que fez gala de uma formidável técnica de deos e de pulso e de um romantismo espectacular (Jorge Bolet, who displayed formidable finger and wrist technique and spectacular romanticism.). Encore Verdi/Liszt Rigoletto.
He also gave a Liszt recital in Setúbal, 31 miles outside Lisbon
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.)
8 June 1962
Royal Festival Hall, London
Rachmaninoff "Paganini Variations"
London Philharmonic/ Anatole Fistoulari.
25 July 1962
Red Rocks Music Festival, Denver, Colorado
Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Denver Symphony Orchestra. Johnny Green
23 August 1962
Hollywood Bowl
Rachmaninoff, Five Etudes: Tableau No. 5; Marche (arranged by Respighi); Concerto No. 3 for Piano and Orchestra; Symphony No 2.
Los Angeles Philharmonic, Walter Hendl
8 Ocotber 1962
Ukiah High School auditorium, Ukiah, Mendocino county, California
14 & 16 October 1962
McKinley Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op.58
Honolulu Symphony under Hans Schwieger
His first appearance on the island. 'Jorge Bolet has accepted an invitation from the Maui Philharmonic Society and will donate his services to play for two student concerts at Baldwin Auditorium. Maui, on Wednesday, October 17, at 12 p.m. and at 1 pm. (There was a letter of complaint to the newspaper that music lovers on Oahu would not hear him.)
22 October 1962
Community Concert Association; Hattiesburg, Mississippi: recital
24 October 1962
College chapel, Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania,
(programme as 8 December)
Liszt, Grand Galop chromatique (as an encore)
26 October 1962
Tarrytown-on-Hudson, a village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York
31 October 1962
JB celebrated his Carnegie Hall 25th Anniversary Concert
Beethoven Sonata No. 31 Op.110, Chopin's 3rd Sonata Op. 58 in B minor, Brahms, Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24 (1861) and Godowsky, Symphonische Metamorphosen Johann Strauss'cher Themen: 2. Die Fledermaus (1907)
6 November 1962
Constitution Hall, Washington DC.
Brahms 2 with the National Symphony under Howard Mitchell in 'Celebrating his 25th year as a performing artist, his 9th appearance as guest artist with this orchestra.
10 November 1962
Parkersburg, West Virginia: Community Association recital
25 November 1962
Medford, Oregon: Civic Music Association
29 November 1962
Lawrence University Memorial Chapel, Appleton, Wisconsin
2, 4 December 1962
Liszt – Piano Concerto No.2 in A major
Buffalo Philharmonic (New York State) and Josef Krips
8 December 1962
Nashua High School, Nashua, New Hampshire (USA)
Beethoven, Rondo in G major Op.51/2; Sonata No. 31 in A flat
Brahms, Variations and Fugue on a theme of Handel, Op.24
Liszt, années de Pélèrinage : Italie (Vallée d'Obermann, Au bord d'une source)
Strauss II/Godowsky, Fledermaus
1963-64
5-7 February 1963
Konzertsaal, Hochschule für Musik, Berlin
Prokofiev No. 2.
Berliner Philharmoniker, under Witold Rowicki
9 February 1963
Royal Festival Hall, LondonGrieg's Piano Concerto
with brother Alberto and London Symphony Orchestra
23 February, 1963
Berlin, Konzertsaal, Hochschule für Musik
Beethoven evening (Les Adieux, Moonlight, Op.110 and Appassionata).
5 March 1963
Sala Born, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Beethoven incl. Pathétique and the Appassionata
8 March 1963
Heerlen City Theatre (Stadsschouwburg), Heerlen, Netherlands
Brahms' second piano concerto
Limburgs Symfonie Orkest/ Leonce Gras
24 March 1963
Aulaen, the auditorium of the University, Oslo (Norway)
Brahms' 2nd piano concerto
with Alberto & Filharmonisk Selskaps orkester (now known as the Oslo Philharmonic)
28 March 1963
Atlantic Hall, Stavanger, Norway.
Beethoven sonatas
3, 5 April 1963
Konserthuset, Stockholm (Sweden) - JB's first appearance here
Serge Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini for piano and orchestra
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Sixten Ehrling conductor
26 April 1963
Teatro Carrión, Valladolid, Spain
Beethoven sonatas, Brahms/Handel variations and Strauss/Godowsky Fledermaus.
11 June 1963
Las Palmas on the Canary Islands
Recital including Beethoven's Sonata No. 31 in A flat Op. 110, Johannes Brahms' Handel Variations & Liszt's Transcendental Studies
15 or 22 June 1963
Las Palmas
Beethoven's Emperor Concerto Op. 73 + Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op.18
24 June 1963
Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland
Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23
Scottish National Orchestra, Alexander Gibson (?)
24 July 1963
Konserthuset, Stockholm (Sweden)
Tchaikovsky’s first concerto
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra under Sixten Ehrling
11 August 1963
Berkshire Festival, The Shed, Tanglewood, Massachussetts, USA
Prokofiev, Piano Concerto No.3 in C Op.26
Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Erich Leinsdorf
16 August 1963, Kurzaal, Den Haag (The Hague) with the Residentie-orkest and Roberto Benzi
11 September 1963
Harmonie in Groningen, Holland/Netherlands
Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op.18
Noordelijk Filharmonisch Orkest, orchestra of Groningen and Drenthe/ Roelof Krol
28 September 1963
RFH, London with brother Alberto in Beethoven's fourth piano concerto (and the Eroica symphony)
30 September 1963
Coventry Festival, Warwickshire, England
Brahms' Pianoforte Concerto No. 2 in B flat
London Philharmonic Orchestra and John Pritchard
4 October 1963
Rotterdam, at the Schouwburg, Holland
Brahms' Concerto No. 2
Rotterdam Philharmonic under Ed Flipse
14 November 1963
Harmonien, Bergen, Norway
Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43.
with Alberto
1964
29-31 January 1964
Opera House, San Francisco
Prokofiev, Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, No. 2 in G Minor
San Francisco Symphony under Josef Krips
4 February 1964
City Hall Theatre, Hamilton, Bermuda
Beethoven, Sonata No.31 Op.110 in A flat, Chopin, Sonata in B minor Op.58, Brahms, Variations on a theme of Handel Op.24, Strauss/Godowsky, Fledermaus.
10 March 1964
Philharmonie, Berlin
Beethoven, No.31 Op.110 In A flat
Liszt, Transcendental Etudes
7-11 April 1964
Grosser Saal, Musikverein, Vienna (Austria)
Liszt 1
Vienna Symphony (Wiener Symphoniker) under Paul Klecki
After the Tchaikovsky concerto with Wolfgang Sawallisch on 19-22 January 1965, there was a long gap in Viennese appearances until 1982 (Joseph Marx's Concerto), at least with regard to orchestral concerts. He is also not in the online archives of the Vienna Philharmonic/Wiener Philharmoniker.
20 May 1964
Haarlem, Netherlands
Tchaikovsky's first piano concerto
4 June 1964
Philharmonie, Berlin
Liszt 1
Berlin Philharmonic/Zubin Mehta
10 June 1964
Konserthuset, Stockholm (Sweden)
Johannes Brahms, Piano Concerto No. 2
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra/ Sixten Ehrling
(also Karl-Birger Blomdahl Symphony No. 3 "Facettes")
There now appears to be a gap in the record of performance by Bolet in Sweden until June 1977.
4 August 1964
Tanglewood, Lenox MA
Beethoven's Sonata No. 31 in A flat major Op.110 followed by Liszt's Transcendental Etudes. Op.110
9 August 1964
Tanglewood, Lenox MA
Beethoven/Liszt, Ruins of Athens with Erich Leinsdorf
20 August 1964
Place des Arts, Montreal (Canada)
Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor Op.30
Seiji Ozawa
During 12 September - 8 October 1964, Bolet toured New Zealand, with recitals in 8 centres and 5 concerto appearances. In an interview with the Rand Daily News (Johannesburg), 12 October 1964, Dora Sowden states that Jorge has just come from New Zealand by air, where he had given 15 concerts.
12 September 1964
Auckland Town Hall, recital
17 September 1964
Wellington Town Hall
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra under Juan Matteucci;
26 September 1964
Christchurch Civic Theatre
Brahms 2 with Juan Matteucci
1 October 1964
Christchurch Civic Theatre
Recital,included the Chopin's Ballades, Mozart’s Sonata in D. K. 576, and Liszt's Funerailles and Mephisto Waltz
8 October 1964
Wellington Town Hall, with conductor Juan Matteucci
1964, South Africa
In late October and November, Bolet made a tour of South Africa (in their summer).
Hans Adler told the J'Burg Sunday Times in November 1962 that negotiations for the tour were already under way.
17 October, 1964
University Great Hall, Johannesburg
Beethoven, Sonata No. 31 in A flat Op.110
Liszt, Transcendental Etudes (in an new order)
22 October, 1964
Cape Town
Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and his Hungarian Fantasia.
Cape Town/Kaapstad Municipal Orchestra/ Peter Erös
24 October 1964
Cape Town Concert Club, Tempelsaal, Groenpunt/Green Point: recital
28 October 1964, Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha, Eastern Cape): recital
1 November 1964
Civic Theatre, Johannesburg
Haydn, Sonata in E flat (Hob.52)
Schubert, Fantasy in C Op.15 (Wanderer)
Liszt, Sonata in B minor
Strauss/Godowsky, Fledermaus
The Rand Daily News (2 November): 'If anyone regretted the announcement that Bolet had decided to play Liszt's Mephisto waltz rather than the Fledermaus paraphrase, that regret must have been swept away by the pianist's superlative playing. It threw new light in Liszt. Here was a performer who did not struggle with Satan; he had him under foot and finger.'
He also played in Windhoek, South West Africa (now Namibia) during this tour.
"Here you will be offered the best of European music. You don't need to bring anything with you from overseas," said the well-known Windhoek art patron Olga Levinson at the time.' Allegemeine Zeitung Namibia (30 October 2008). Miss Levinson observed that 'the 1964 season was brought to a conclusion by the high voltage playing of Jorge Bolet'.
8 December 1964
Liverpool, England
Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Jascha Horenstein
1965 Australia
9 January 1965
Philharmonie, Berlin
Schubert/ Liszt
19-22 January 1965
Vienna
30 January 1965
City Hall Theatre, Hamilton, Bermuda
Chopin, 4 Ballade, Mozart, Sonata in D major K576, Liszt, Consolation in D flat & Mephisto Waltz.
In March 1965, Bolet arrived by Qantas at Sydney’s Kingsford Smith airport to begin a 14 week ABC concert tour of all the states of Australia.
'Bolet's nomination for the worst audiences are in Australia and New Zealand. "It's because they are a certain kind of people and also because of their remoteness. It seems to me that they resent anyone from the so-called outside world"'. [Ouch!]
(Ledger Inquirer [Columbus-Georgia] 22.10.1968)
c.8 April 1965
Town Hall, Melbourne
Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor Op.30
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra/ Paavo Berglund [+Lemminkäinen Suite]
4 May 1965
Town Hall, Sydney
Brahms Concerto No.2 in B flat major Op.83
Sydney Symphony under Finnish maestro Paavo Berglund
12 May 1965
Town Hall, Sydney
Haydn, Schubert "Wanderer", Chopin Ballades
15 May 1965
Town Hall, Sydney
Beethoven, Sonata No. 31 in A flat Op.110
Liszt, Transcendental Etudes
18 May 1965
Town Hall, Melbourne
Beethoven, Sonata No. 31 in A flat Op.110
Liszt, Transcendental Etudes
21 and 26 May 1965
Capitol Theatre, Perth (Western Australia)
West Australian Symphony Orchestra and Paavo Berglund.
25 May 1965
Capitol Theatre, Perth (Western Australia): recital
8, 9 and 10 June with conductor Dean Dixon (Sydney Symphony Orchestra)
c.17 June 1965
Sydney
Schumann Piano Concerto
Sydney Symphony under Joseph Post
19 June 1965
Brisbane, Queensland
Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23
Rudolf Pekárek and the Queensland SO (but the conductor may have been Dean Dixon, as the Czech maetro took ill)
6 July 1965
City Hall, Hong Kong
incl. Haydn's sonata in E flat major
12 September 1965
Odeon, Swiss Cottage, London
Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor Op.30
Royal Philharmonic and Kust Wöss.
7 and 9 October 1965
Ford Auditorium, Detroit
Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor Op.30
Detroit Symphony and Sixten Ehrling
3 & 5 December 1965
Palacio de la Música, Madrid, Spain
Rachmaninoff's second concerto with Carl Melles
9 December 1965
Münchner Residenz (Herkulessaal), Munich, West Germany (Studio Radio Broadcast)
Liszt: Piano Concerto No.1 in E-flat major, S.124, Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No.3 in D minor, Op.30
Raphael Frübeck de Burgos / Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks.
On 13 December 1965 the Dutch newspaper De Schiedammer reports that on a Saturday morning (11th) the acoustics of the concert hall in Rotterdam (Holland), De Doelen, were being tested. Jorge played de Falla's Nights in the Gardens of Spain with Robert Benzl. As the work was rarely performed, 'its performance was not able to offer comparison with other halls, in terms of acoustics'.
1966-67
7 January 1966
Philharmonie, Berlin
Debussy, Chopin (Sonata Op.58), Liszt (Sonata, Mephisto waltz)
c.13 January 1966
Helsinki, Finland ??
Rachmaninoff 3 [also Joonas Kokkonen, Music for strings]
Paavo Beglund
3, 4 April 1966
Philharmonie, Berlin
Beethoven, Concerto No. 5 [+ Prokofiev, Symphony No. 6 in E flat minor]
Berlin Philharmonic / Lovro von Matačić (Croatian, 1899-1985)
14 May, 1966
RFH, London
Grieg's Piano Concerto
London Philharmonic and Moshe Atzmon
c.23 May 1966
Helsinki, Finland??
Paavo Berglund
19 August 1966
Tanglewood in Lennox, Berkshire County, Massachusetts USA
Short evening Liszt recital (Schubert + Wagner ("Spinning chorus") + Verdi + Schumann/Liszt)
20 August 1966
Tanglewood in Lennox
Franz Liszt / Ruins of Athens: Fantasy on Motifs; Concerto for Piano No. 2 in A major. BSO/Erich Leinsdorf
21-23 September 1966
Berlin
Schumann's Concerto in A minor
Berlin Philharmonic under Seiji Ozawa {+ Hindemith's Mathis der Maler symphony}
2 November 1966
Aulaen, Oslo, Norway
Liszt's first piano concerto
Oslo Philharmonic/ American-Swiss Francis Travis
10 November 1966
Stavanger, Norway
Beethoven's 5th piano concerto in E flat, "Emperor"
17 November 1966
Auditorio Ministerio, Madrid
Chopin's four Ballades and Liszt's Sonata plus the Mephisto Waltz
Late November 1966
Herkulessaal, Munich
Chopin, Ballades; Liszt Sonata, Mephisto Waltz (& encores)
(received one of Jorge's best reviews ever, see Edmund Nick ad loc.)
1 December 1966
Philharmonie, Berlin
Brahms, Liszt recital
2 December 1966: Haus des Rundfunks (Saal 3), West Berlin, West Germany (SFB Studio Radio Broadcast ) Chopin: Polonaise in A major, Op.40 No.1, Polonaise in C minor, Op.40 No.2, Polonaise in A-flat major, Op.53, Schumann/Liszt: Frühlingsnacht, Op.39 No.12 (S.568). Performance also in Munich?
1967
21 January 1967
Orange Coast College. auditorium, Costa Mesa, California
Prokofiev's Concerto No. 3 in C Major
Detroit Symphony Orchestra/ Sixten Ehrling,
22 January 1967
Music Center Pavilion, Los Angeles
Prokofiev's Concerto No. 3 in C Major
Detroit Symphony Orchestra/ Sixten Ehrling
27 January 1967
Fresno Convention Center Theatre, San Joaquin Valley, California
Liszt 1 (+ Carlos Surinach, Melorhythmic Dramas]
Detroit Symphony Orchestra/ Sixten Ehrling
28 January 1967
Opera House, San Francisco
Liszt 1 (+ Carlos Surinach, Melorhythmic Dramas]
Detroit Symphony Orchestra/ Sixten Ehrling (orchestra debut in the hall)
10 April 1967
Théâtre National Populaire, Paris, France
Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No.2 in G minor, Op.16
Dietfried Bernet / Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique
In the summer of 1986, Jorge said: 'Now you see, now I have been discovered in France and I cannot make all the dates they want.' It looks as if this 1967 performance was his first in the country after his Parisian debut in May 1935.
16 April 1967
[The new] Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
Recital: Chopin, Ballades; Brahms, Handel Variations; Liszt, Consolation No.3 in D flat & Mephisto waltz.
Is this Jorge's last London concert until the 1970s?
13 August, 1967
Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, New York
Gershwin's Concerto in F (1925) and Rhapsody in Blue
Philadelphia Orchestra cond. Eugene Ormandy
3 September 1967
Philharmonie, Berlin
Weber, Konzertstück in F minor Op.79
RSO Berlin/ Hermann Hildebrandt
(also: Albert Lortzing, Der Wildschütz, Overture & Hans Pfitzner, Overtüre zu Kleists "Das Käthchen" (1905)]
5 October 1967
Harmonie, Leeuwarden, Holland
Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23
Frysk Orkest / Jo Diederen
A recording from 6 October 1967 exists, in excellent sound, of Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Op.43 in Cologne/Köln, Germany with Jorge Bolet and the WDR Symphony Orchestra conducted by Christoph von Dohnanyi.
18 October 1967
Concert Hall, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, with the Albuquerque SO
Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23
Albuquerque Symphony Orchestra
24 October 1967
United Nations, NYC
In late September, the Wiener Symphoniker and Wolfgang Sawallisch were on tour in North America, beginning at Villanova University, PA and going as far north as Anchorge, Alaska (13 October 1976). Jorge joined them on 24 October at the United Nations, where they performed Beethoven’s Fantasia in C major for piano, chorus and orchestra Op.80.
9 October, 1967
Carnegie Hall, NYC
Robert Schumann, Fantasy in C Major, Op. 17 (1836-1838);
Franz Liszt, Études d’exécution transcendante, S. 139 (1838-1840).
1 November 1967
Jubilee Auditorium, Calgary, Canada (début)
incl. Mendelssohn (Songs without words)
2 November 1967
The Playhouse Theatre, Winnipeg, Manitoba (Canada)
Chopin Ballades & Franck's Prelude, Chorale and Fugue
6 November 1967
Victorville, San Bernardino County, California
Cesar Franck, Prelude Choral and Fugue, six Mendelssohn "Songs without Words", Chopin4 Ballades
"Carnegie Hall came to Victorville Monday night"
11 November,
Pasadena Civic Auditorium,
Pasadena Symphony/ Richard Lert
Jorge Bolet making his first Pasadena performance with the orchestra
2 December 1967
Philharmonie, Berlin,
Mendelssohn, Variations Serieuses, Franck, Prelude, Chorale and Fugue, Chopin, Ballades
16 December 1967
Orchestra Hall, Chicago
Prokofiev, Concerto for Piano No. 2 in G Minor, Op.16
Chicago Symphony Orchestra/ Sixten Ehrling [or Jean Martinon?]
18 December 1967
Pabst Theatre, Milwaukee
Prokofiev, Concerto for Piano No. 2 in G Minor, Op.16
Chicago Symphony Orchestra/ Sixten Ehrling [or Jean Martinon?]
1968-69
At this stage Jorge was living in northern Spain. In 1968, he is described as having a home base for the past six years in a house on the Basque coast of Spain (Fuenterrabia), 20 km form the fishing village of San Sebastian. He is going to keep it while being at Bloomington.
11, 12 January 1968
Linz, Austria
Rachmaninoff 3
26-28 January 1968
Teatro Real, Madrid
Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23
Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos (1933-2014) and the Orquesta Nacional de España
4 April 1968.
Jorge Bolet can be heard in Mozart's Piano Concerto K450 (No. 15 in B flat), recorded with the Bavarian Radio SO under Jan Koetsier
16 and 21 May 1968, début in Stuttgart, Germany (Mozartsaal).
"A second Wilhelm Backhaus," proclaimed Dieter Schorr, "but though he is now 55 years old, you'll not find his name in any German music lexikon"
22 July 1968
Rackham Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan. [3rd appearance after 5/1952 and 11/1954]
incl.Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words, Liszt Transcendental Études, C.Franck's Prelude, Choral and Finale
26 July 1968
Koussevitzky Music Shed, Tanglewood, Lenox
Carl Maria von Weber’s Konzertstück in F minor, Opus 79
Liszt's Hungarian Fantasy ("Fantasie über ungarische Volksmelodien" S.123)
Boston Symphony Orchestra under Erich Leinsdorf
R.C.Hammerich: "Nimble despite bulk" {!}
4 August 1968
Koussevitzky Music Shed, Tanglewood, Lenox
Sergei Rachmaninov/ Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43
Boston Symphony under William Steinberg
J.C.Rosenfeld in The Berkshire Eagle: Again Bolet was cast in the role he fulfils so splendidly, that of a flamboyant virtuoso. One remembers and thinks of him at Tanglewood only as that kind of a pianist... He becomes typed at the keyboard as a personage, much as Boris Karloff was in the movies.
c.20 August 1968
Helsinki, Finland??
Prokofiev 2
Leif Segerstam (+(Ginastera Variations for orchestra)
Jorge now taken up a teaching post at University of Indiana, at Bloomington
15 October 1968
War Memorial auditorium, Fort Lauderdale (Florida)
Franck, Rachmaninoff Paganini
Fort Lauderdale Symphony/Emerson Buckley
22 October 1989
Three Arts Theater, Columbus, Georgia
Tchaikovsky 1
Columbus Symphony/Harry Kruger
29 October 1968
Community Theater, Kingston, NY
3 November 1968
I.U. Auditorium, Bloomington, Indiana
cancelled because of emergency surgery
8 & 9 November 1968
Symphony Hall, Boston, Massachusetts
Rachmaninoff, Paganini Variations & Liszt, Hungarian Fantasy.
Boston SO/Erich Leinsdorf
But on 6 November, the Morning Globe reported that Bolet had been hospitalised and that Leonard Pennario would replace him.
20 & 22 November, 1968
Philharmonic Hall (Lincoln Center) New York, NY
Rachmaninoff, Paganini Variations
Boston Symphony Orchestra under Erich Leinsdorf
"I wish it were at Carnegie Hall. The new place at Lincoln Center is not exactly my favourite."
'Jorge Bolet, pianist, will be the guest at Symphony Seminar at 8 p.m. Jan. 29 at the Jewish Community Center, 6701 Hoover Road. In September Mr. Bolet joined the faculty of the School of Music at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.' Jewish Post (Indianapolis), 24.1.69
2 December 1968
Phiharmonie, Berlin
Liszt, Sonnetti del Petrarca, Funerailles, Sonata, Chopin, 4 Scherzos
17 December 1968
Helsinki?
"How I ever manage Helsinki at that time of year I do not know. It will be unbelievably cold, just a few days away from the shortest day of the year. It won't get light until around 11am and will be dark by 1:30 in the afternoon." (Ledger Inquirer [Columbus-Georgia] 22.10.1968)
1969
4/6 March 1969
Symphony Hall, Boston, MA.
Sergei Rachmaninoff / Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43
Charles Wilson and the Boston Symphony Orchestra
11 March 1969
Coliseum, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
replacing João Carlos Martins
Chopin 4 scherzi, Liszt Sonata
15 April, 1969
University of Indiana at Bloomington
13 June 1969
Orchestra Hall, Chicago
Chicago SO/ Irwin Hoffman
Gershwin Night
29 June 1969 [Sunday 8:15pm]
Miami Beach auditorium
Weber, Liszt 1, Tchaikovsky 1
30 June 1969
Bloomington, Indiana
Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30 [+ RVW Symphony No. 5]
Charles Webb/*Wolfgang Vacano conducting Indiana Symphony
The Indianapolis Star (25.6.1969) says the conductor is Wolfgang Vacano, as does the review by The Herald-Times critic Zola P. Levitt (1.7.1969). One of the largest audiences ever assembled in the IU Auditorium. Vacano (1906, Cologne -1985): in 1939, he went to South America and worked as a conductor at the opera houses of Santiago, Montevideo, La Plata, and finally at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. From 1951 until his retirement in 1977, Vacano was a professor at Indiana University Bloomington , where he taught conducting and led opera workshops.
7 August, 1969
Constitution Hall, Washington DC
Tchaikovsky 1
Franz Allers and the National Symphony
15 October 1969
Bloomington, Indiana: Faculty recital
Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Op. 57 'Appassionata'; Chopin, Scherzos,; Liszt/Donizetti's Réminiscences de Lucia di Lammermoor, S. 397, Wagner's Spinnerlied aus Der fliegende Holländer, S. 440, Mephisto Waltz No. 1 in A Major, S. 514 'Der Tanz in der Dorfschenke', Schubert's Die Forelle, S. 564.
October/November, 1969: Germany
28 October 1969
Berlin Phiharmonie
Schumann, Intermezzo in E flat minor Op.26, Romanze in F sharp major Op.28/2, ABEGG Variations Op.1 (1830); Beethoven, Appassionata; Chopin Scherzos.
1970-73
9 February 1970
Municipal Theater, Tulsa, Oklahoma [broadcast on Voice of America]
Rachmaninoff 3 [+ Camargo Guarnieri, Brasiliana (1950)]
Tulsa Philharmonic /Franco Autori
I wonder if the CG piece is in fact Symphony No. 4 Brasilia (1963)
14 February 1970
Long Beach, Florida
Liszt, Tchaikovsky
11 March 1970
Charleston, South Carolina
13 March 1970
Fine Arts auditorium, de Kalb, Illinois
Beethoven 32 Variations, 2 sonatas
(cancelled?)
16 March 1970
High School, Midland, Texas (Odessa Civic Concert Assoc.)
20 March 1970
Alhambra High auditorium, Phoenix , Arizona
Chopin Ballades, Liszt Sonata, Hungarian Rhapsody No.12
21 March 1970
Scottsdale High auditorium, Arizona
Haydn, E flat sonata, Schumann Etudes Symphoniques, Beetoven appassionata, Liszt "Au bord d'une source", Hungarian Rhapsody No.12
19, 20 May 1970
Constitution Hall, Washington DC
Beethoven 3
National Symphony/Paul Paray
"Technically sound and judicious, but somehow it never caught fire"
5 July, David Saperton dies in Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore
22 August 1970
Grant Park, Chicago
Tchaikovsky 1 (which was moved up an hour so as not to compete with the lakeside fireworks)
Irwin Hoffman
'Jorge dropped quite a lot of notes and many younger pianists would accuse him of spanking - if not beating - his instrument. But when he had finished, I thought I saw a veil of blue smoke hovering above the keyboard, and wild response of the audience also indicated approval' Peter Gorner, Chicago Tribune
3 October 1970
Hunter College, NYC
Benefit concert for IPL
Jorge contributed a pair of Liszt operatic paraphrases (on Donizetti's Lucia di Lamermoor & Verdi's Rigoletto)
17 October 1970
Dreher High School, Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia Philharmonic
11 October 1970
University of Indiana at Bloomington
19 December 1970
Washington Irving High School NYC
1971
31 January 1971
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 major, Op.64 No.1 (Minute Waltz)
On 18 February, Jorge arrived in Fuenterrabia, northern Spain, where he and Tex rented a home.
4 March 1971
Philharmonie, Berlin
Chopin, Preludes Op.28, Andante spianato et Grande Polonaise brillante; Brahms Handel Variations
30, 31 May/ 1 June 1971
Grosser Sendesaal, Masurenallee, Berlin
Tchaikovsky 1
RSO Orchestra/ James de Priest
[+ Werner Egk, Französisches Suite nach Rameau (1949) & Bartók, Concerto for Orchestra]
The Miami Herald 17 October 1971 records that Jorge (who will give a recital on Saturday evening) has been missing from the local scene for a decade; he was last heard here in the small Binder-Baldwin concert hall in 1963.
11 August 1971
University of Indiana at Bloomington
21 September 1971
Liszt's Totentanz
New York Philharmonic under Pierre Boulez
12 & 17 October 1971
Philharmonic Hall, Lincoln Center, New York City
Prokofiev 2
Leopold Stokowski & American Symphony Orchestra
11, 12, 15 November 1971
Philharmonic Hall / Manhattan, New York City
Liszt / Fantasy on Motifs from Beethoven's Ruins of Athens, for Piano and Orchestra
Chopin / Andante spianato and Grand Polonaise Brilliante for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 22
with Michael Tilson Thomas
Pre-concert recital on Monday 15th (some of which is available on Marston CDs but dated to 11th)
Schubert / Winterreise, D.911 "Der Lindenbaum"
Schubert / "Wohin?" No. 2 from Die schöne Mullerin, D.795
Schubert / "Das Wandern" from Die schöne Mullerin, D.795 (Op. 25) (Liszt, Franz)
Wagner / "The Spinning Song" from Der Fliegende Holländer, WWV 63, arranged for piano (Liszt, Franz)
Liszt / Grand galop chromatique
Encore: Schumann/Liszt: Widmung, Op.25 No.1 (S.566)
28-30 November 1971
Grosser Sendesaal, Masurenallee, Berlin
Liszt 1
RSO Orchestra/Lawrence Foster
1972
5 February , 1972
Alice Tully Hall, New York City,
Chopin, 4 Ballades
Liszt: Piano Sonata in B minor, S.178 & Rhapsodie Espagnole, S.254
14 March 1972
Philharmonie, Berlin
Schumann, Fantasy in C Op.15, Debussy Images, Liszt, Spanish Rhapsody etc.
In March 1972 Jorge recorded the Sgambati Concerto in G minor in Nuremberg - Colosseum Musikstudios with Ainslee Cox and the Nürnberg Symphoniker.
On 18 April 1972, Leopold Stokowski celebrated his 90th birthday (he was actually 93 or 94 but had mischievously shaved a few years off his age). At a party at the Plaza Hotel, New York City, among musical items, Jorge played a Ballade of Chopin
2 August 1972
Sheep Meadow (Central Park), New York City, New York
Liszt: Piano Concerto No.1 in E-flat major, S.124
Jean Martinon / New York Philharmonic Orchestra
7 October 1972
Washington Irving High School, New York City
Haydn: Andante & Variations in F minor, Hob.XVII:6 (Un Piccolo Divertimento), Sonata No.62 in E-flat major, Hob.XVI:52; Beethoven: Sonata No.23 in F minor, Op.57 (Appassionata); Liszt: Funérailles, S.173 No.7 (from Harmonies Poétiques et Religieuses); Rhapsodie Espagnole, S.254
9 November 1972, solo recital: Munich, Germany
29 November 1972
Schubert Club, O'Shaughnessy Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Jorge replaces at 24 hours' notice an indisposed Alexander Slobodyanik at the .
incl. Beethoven's Appassionata, Haydn Variations
1973
21/22 January 1973
Auditorium della Conciliazione, Rome.
Beethoven's fourth concerto
Guido Ajmone-Marsan and the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
28 January 1973
Hunter College, New York City.
Four Scherzos (Chopin), Three “Petrarch” Sonnets (Liszt), “Tannhäuser” Overture (Wagner‐Liszt)
Hunter College, NYC on 17 February 1973.
15 March 1973
London
City of Birmingham Symphony under French conductor Louis Frémaux (1921-2017)
8 May 1973
Butler University Romantic Festival, Clowes Memorial Hall, Indianapolis.
Recital programme of Rachmaninoff and Liszt transcriptions
Jorge's carnival piece, Godowsky's Symphonic Metamorphoses on Themes from Die Fledermaus can be heard on Marston CDs Volume 2 from a performance on 17 May 1973, in Cologne/Köln, Germany.
Jorge gives an account of his time just before departing for South Africa in May 1973. 'After my recent Bakersfield, California concert with Alberto, I had five days of dashing across the country, from there to Saratoga, then on to San Francisco, New York, Indianapolis and then across the Atlantic to London. Almost as bad was last week's routine. I had two performances in Lübeck, Germany, the last one ending late at night, and then snatched a few hours sleep before leaving shortly after six the next morning for Bremen where recording sessions started at the radio station at 10am.'
25 May 1973
Lunchtime all-Liszt recital in Pretoria, South Africa at the Musaion
27 May
Johannesburg Civic Theatre: recital
included Brahms' Sonata in F minor op.5, and Liszt's Gnomereigen, Tannhäuser overture and two encores, Liebesträum 3 and Widmung.
29/30 May 1973
Johannesburg City Hall
Grieg concerto
SABC Orchestra/ Edgar Cree
He will also perform in Durban (4/5 June) and Cape Town (7 June)
10 June 1973
Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
*This is the British début of Earl Wild. (I was surprised to learn it was so late in his - admittedly long - career. It was an all-Liszt recital, including one of this pianist's favourites, Hungarian Rhapsody No. 4. The Evening Standard (23 March 1973) carried a review of a television programme with the LSO and Andre Previn in which "a piano scherzo by Scharwenka - so dizzying that a Scharwenka man Earl Wild had to be imported from the States to play it."
5. Juli 1973
Berlin Philharmionic/Wolfgang Balzer
Franz Liszt: Klavierkonzert Es-Dur
19 August 1973
Caramoor Festival, Katonah, New York
Liszt
August 1973
Maryland Piano Festival.
Stewart Gordon had said that 'In 1973, I learned that Bolet had not played a recital in the Washington D.C. area for more than ten years, an unbelievable fact considering the scope of his career. The Festival audience was waiting in great anticipation for him to step out on stage and play.' He began with Chopin's 4 scherzos, and there was a even standing ovation after No. 2 in B flat minor!
25 August 1973
Gibraltar Auditorium, Fish Creek, Wisconsin.
Sgambati, Concerto in G minor
with Thor Johnson
5 October 1973
Meister-Klavierabend Philharmonie, Berlin
Chopin Barcarolle, Fantasie f-moll, Sonate h-moll Liszt Petrarca-Sonette
10/11 October 1973
Colston Hall, Bristol, England
Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor Op.30
Bournemouth Symphony / Paavo Berglund
12 October 1973
Exeter, England
Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor Op.30
8, 9 November 1973
Clowes Memorial Hall of Butler University, Indianapolis, Indiana
Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor Op.30
Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra/ Izler Solomon
4 December 1954, first appearance in five years in Orchestra Hall, Chicago with the Chicago SO. [?]
1974-75
23 January 1974 (aged 59)
Victoria Hall,, Geneva, Switzerland
Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953), Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande/Wolfgang Sawallisch
25 January 1974
University Hall, Fribourg, Switzerland
Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953), Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16 Orchestre de la Suisse Romande/Wolfgang Sawallisch
14 February, 1974
Delaware, Ohio
Same programme as 24 February
25 February 1974 (aged 59)
Carnegie Hall, New York City
Bach/Busoni: Chaconne from Violin Partita No.2 in D minor, BWV 1004
Chopin: 24 Preludes, Op.28
Tausig: Valse-Caprice No.2 after J. Strauss II’s waltz Man lebt nur einmal!
Tausig: Valse-Caprice No.1 after J. Strauss II’s waltz Nachtfalter
Schulz-Evler: Arabesques on J. Strauss II’s waltz An der schönen blauen Donau
Wagner/Liszt: Overture to Tannhäuser, S.442
Encores:
Chopin: Nocturne in F-sharp major, Op.15 No.2
de Schlözer: Concert Etude in A-flat major, Op.1 No.2
Moszkowski: La Jongleuse, Op.52 No.4
Rubinstein: Etude in C major, Op.23 No.2 (Staccato)
*The recital was recorded by RCA
28 February 1974
Heinz Hall, Pittsburgh, USA
Beethoven, Piano Concerto No.3 in C minor
with Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
(Jorge replaced an indisposed Radu Lupu)
7 April 1974
Frick Collection, New York City
incl. four Debussy Preludes and Chopin's Fantasy in F minor Op.49, Beethoven's Sonata No. 17 in D Minor, Op. 31, No. 2 'Tempest' and Chopin's Barcarolle in F-Sharp Major, Op. 60
Joseph Marx Concerto in May 1975 in New York [?]
26 May 1974
Arnhem, Holland (Festival of Romantic Music)
incl. J.Strauss II/Schulz-Evler, Blue Danube. On the Marston 6 CD set of Bolet, Ambassador from the Golden Age, we can hear selections from Jorge's concert on 26 May: Franck's Prelude, Aria, and Finale, Saint-Saëns/Godowsky, The Swan & Paul de Schloezer's ("Paul de who?!") knuckle-breaking étude.
28 May 1974
Arnhem, Holland (Festival of Romantic Music)
Sgambati Concerto in G minor
Gederland Symphony Orchestra under Leo Driehuys.
As an encore, he played the massive Wagner-Liszt Tannhauser Overture.
6 July 1974
Venetian Theatre, Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts,Katonah, New York.
Beethoven 4 with Julius Rudel
13, 15 October, 1974
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Sgambati: Piano Concerto in G minor, Op.15
Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini
Liszt: Fantasy on Hungarian Folk Songs for Piano & Orchestra, S.123
Ainslee Cox / Oklahoma City Symphony Orchestra
27 October 1974
92nd Street Y, New York City
Recital
A benefit for the International Piano Archives, which is trying to raise $250,000 to purchase and remodel a small building on the upper West Side for its headquarters.
incl. Liszt's “Funérailles", Chopin's Sonata in B minor (Op. 58), “Hungarian Rhapsody” No. 12
30 October 1974
Royal Festival Hall, London
Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23
Bournemouth Symphony/ Paavo Berglund
13 November 1974
Philharmonie, Berlin
Mendelssohn Prelude and Fugue in E minor, Variations sérieuses, Chopin, Sonata in B minor; Liszt, Funérailles, 6 Consolations, Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12
c.19 November 1974
Helsinki, Finland??
Beethoven 4
Paavo Berglund
9 December, 1974
Royal Festival Hall, London.
Gala concert for the International Piano Library (nowadays International Piano Archives at Maryland)
In late 1974, Jorge was one of the judges - his only time - on the Concurso Latinoamericano de piano Teresa Carreño in Caracas, Venezuela. He made a number of concert appearance in Caracas.
1975
3 January 1975
Neumann Auditorium, Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa.
19 January 1975
Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia
Recital including Chopin, Frédéric, 1810-1849. Sonata, piano, no. 3, op. 58, B minor
29 January 1975
Auditorium Dufour, Quebec City, Canada
Liszt's first concerto
Orchestre Symphonique de Québec and Franco Mannino.
He said he was due soon to play six concerts in six days with the Bamberg Symphony in Germany ('the country in which I most often play at the moment') conducted by none other than eminent baritone singer Dietrich Fischer Dieskau; he adds that his season consists of 85 concerts.
6, 7, 8 and 11 February 1975
Avery Fisher Hall, NYC
Rachmaninoff / Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30
New York Philharmonic and Bernard Haitink
18 February 1975
Meistersingerhalle, Nuremberg
Chopin's first concerto
Bamberg Symphoniker under Dietrich Fischer Dieskau
27 February 1975
Braunschweig, West Germany (Radio Broadcast
Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major
Heinz Wallberg / Nord-Deutschen Rundfunks Sinfonieorchester.
A rare mention of Bolet in the Ravel concerto
8 March 1975
Lincoln Center - Avery Fisher Hall, New York City.
A short recital in the middle of a New York Philharmonic concert (Pierre Boulez, a mini-festival around Schubert), which included a rare item in Jorge's repertoire, Czech composer Jan Václav Hugo Voříšek's (1791-1825) Impromptu No. 5 in E Major, Op. 7 (on Marston CDs volume 2).
13 April 1975
Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major
Reading Symph. Orch. (Berks County, Pennsylvania) under Louis Vyner (1907-1981), who had conducted Jorge in the early 1930s
23 February 1975
Grote Zaal, Concertgebouw, Amsterdam.
incl. Chopin's Barcarolle in F# major (Op.60), Liszt's three Petrarch sonnets (from Années de Pélerinage), Chopin's Sonata in B minor opus 58
Reviewer Rutger Schoute thought 'the storm passage in the Barcarolle churned up the Venetian waters as if Chopin had imagined wind force 8 or 9'. (De „storm"-pasage in de Barcarolle joeg bijvoorbeeld de Venetiaanse wateren op alsof Chopin an windkracht 8 of 9 had gedacht.)
NRC Handelsblad titled its review: 'Jorge Bolet: soms leeuw, soms musicus' (sometimes lion, sometimes musician)
27 February, 1975
Braunschweig, West Germany [?date of radio broadcast]
Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major
Heinz Wallberg / Nord-Deutschen Rundfunks Sinfonieorchester
19 March 1975
Alice Tully Hall, New York
Hummel, Piano Concerto in A flat (Op. 113)
1 May 1975
Geneva, Switzerland
Brahms' second concerto
Silvio Varviso/ Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in Geneva, Switzerland
2 May 1975
Palais des Congrès, Bienne (Switzerland)
Brahms' second concerto
Silvio Varviso/ Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in Geneva, Switzerland
R. Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel; Bohuslav Martinů: Concerto for two string orchestras, piano and timpani (JB did not presumably play the piano for the Martinů)
6/7 May 1975
New Orleans Theater of the Performing Arts
Rachmaninoff 3
New Orleans Symphony & Werner Torkanowsky
The Sea Coast Echo adds that 'last season marked Bolet's 36th anniversary on the concert stage. He has performed with the New Orleans Symphony four times in the past; his first appearance here took place just over 30 years ago, in January 1945.'
29, 30 and 31 May 1975
Lincoln Centre, NYC
Rachmaninoff / Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18
New York Philharmonic under Andre Kostelanetz
18 [?] July 1975
Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles
Franck's Symphonic Variations and Liszt's Hungarian Fantasy
25 July 1975
Carriage House Theater, Villa Montalvo, Saratoga, California
9 August 1975
Lyndhurst in Tarrytown, New York
Summer of Music on the Hudson
Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23
The County Symphony
Early September 1975
Haydn Conference/Festival, Esterházy Castle, Eisenstadt, Austria
Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Concerto for piano and orchestra in A flat major op. 113
17 September 1975
São Paulo, Brazil
recital
19 and 21 September 1975
Teatro Municipal de São Paulo, Brazil
Rachmaninoff's Paganini Variations
OSESP (Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo) under Gerard Devos
23 September 1975 [?]
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
recital
26 September 1975
Teatro Coliseo, Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Bach/Busoni, Chopin, Strauss and Wagner-Liszt.
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 Fantasy
30 September 1975 [?]
Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Liszt 1 and 2
25 October 1975
University of Exeter, England
Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No.1 in B flat minor Op.23
Bournemouth Symphony under Paavo Berglund
Jorge's performance of Mozart/Liszt, Réminiscences de Don Juan, S. 418 can be heard on Marston CDs Volume 2, from a performance on 9 November 1975, New York City.
6 November 1975
Hunterdon Central High School, Flemington, New Jersey
New Jersey Symphony Orchestra/ Henry Lewis
21 November 1975
Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi, Milan, Italy
Chopin: Three Mazurkas, Op.59, Three Nocturnes, Op.9, 2 Etudes, Op.25
Liszt: Three Concert Etudes, S.144, Réminiscences de Don Juan (Mozart), S.418
Previous visit to Milan was in May 1935 during his European début.
24/ 25 November 1975
Teatro Comunale, Bologna, Italy
Chopin, Three Nocturnes Op. 9, Three Mazurkas op. 56, Three Mazurkas op. 59, Twelve studies op. 25, Ballades op. 23, op. 38, op. 47, op. 52.
23, 26, 27, 28 November 1975
Other performances in Budrio, Faenza (23), Modena (27/28), Parma (Italy), according to the Bologna website.
In late November/early December 1975, Jorge gave recitals near his home in Fuenterrabia in northern Spain: Santander and Bilbao.
1 December 1975
Bilbao
2 December 1975
Santander
4 December 1975
Malaga (in the south, Andalusia)
E. Velez Camarero in Ritmo: revista musical ilustrada (1.12.75), reviewing the former, did not much care for "arrangements". Bach in his Chaconne must be respected at all costs; Strauss waltzes lose all their colour and charm when arranged, and the Tannhäuser overture is intolerable, 'even if it concerns a very illustrious relative [father-in-law Liszt]', pues que es intolerable, aunque es trate de un muy ilustre familiar.
9 December 1975
Philharmonie, Berlin
Chopin, Polonaises C sharp minor, E flat minor [Op.26/1 & 2), F sharp minor, Op. 44 (1840-41); Reger/Telemann Variations, Liszt, Don Juan Fantasy
First mention of Reger/Telemann...?
15 December 1975
Carnegie Hall: 50th anniversary celebration of the W. W. Naumburg Foundation.
'Where else in a lifetime of concert-going could a comparable cast be savoured at a single concert? Jorge Bolet and Andre‐Michel Schub in Liszt's “Don Juan” Reminiscences for two pianos. The youngest winner was Mr. Schub, who won last year's first prize.'
Harold C Schonberg
Walking back to my hotel, I happened to pass the Teatro Coliseo, Buenos Aires: 25 September 2025, see 26 September 1975!
1976 South Africa & Japan
3, 4 January 1976
Performing Arts Center, Uihlein Hall, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Prokofiev 2
Milwaukee Symphony/Kenneth Schermerhorn
10 January 1976, Bolet left for a tour of South Africa, with concerts in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Windhoek (Namibia since March 1990), Pietermaritzburg, Durban, Salisbury, Rhodesia. He flew back to the US on 20 February.
23 January 1976
Pretoria
On 26 January 1976, the Rand Daily News reported that 'because the new concert grand for Pretoria's City Hall did not arrive in time for Jorge Bolet's PACT concert [Performing Arts Council of the Transvaal] this weekend, a piano had to be hired from J'burg.
25 January 1976
Johannesburg City Hall
Liszt's Concerto in A major and Hungarian Fantasy
The conductor was the young Russian Israeli Shmuel Freidman.
(Same programme in Pretoria on either 23 or 27 January)
26 January 1976
Johannesburg
recital: Strauss/Tausig, Mozart/Liszt Don Juan, Bach/Busoni, Ciaccona, Chopin, Preludes Op.28
27 [30?] January 1976
City Hall, Pretoria
Brahms 2
2(?) February 1976
Bloemfontein
1 February 1976
Johannesburg [?]
Brahms's 2nd piano concerto in B flat majora
Pact Symphony Orchestra under Shmeul Friedman
2 February 1976
Windhoek (Namibia since March 1990)
all-Chopin recital (Etudes Op.25 and the four Ballades)
5 February 1976
City Hall, Cape Town/ Kaapstad
Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major & Hungarian Fantasy
with Enrique Garcia Asensio
6 February 1976
Bloemfontein?
9 February 1976
Sanlam Auditorium, Rand Afrikaans University (RAU), Johannesburg
Die Transvaler reported that Bolet had changed his programme: instead of Chopin's second book of Etudes Op.25, he would be playing the Reger/Telemann.
Also:Chopin's polonaises Op.26 and Op.44 and all four Ballades.
11 February 1976
Pietermaritzburg
12 February 1976
Durban
14 February 1976
Harry Margolis Hall, Salisbury, Rhodesia (from April 1980, Harare/ Zimbabwe)
all-Chopin recital (Etudes Op.25 and the four Ballades)
15 February 1976
Johannesburg
23/ 25 February 1976
Dade County Auditorium/Miami Beach Theatre (Florida)
Brahms 2
Greater Miami Philharmonic/Alberto Bolet
29 February 1976
Amsterdam.
incl. Reger's Telemann Variations, Mozart/Liszt Don Juan fantasy
In an interview for the Quad-City Times (Iowa), 5 March 1976, speaking of flights, he usually tells people his home is Frankfurt Airport. His flight from Chicago to Moline was his 77th in the last four months.
5, 6 March 1976
Centennial Hall, Augustana College, Rock Island, Ilinois USA
Prokofiev 2
Tri-City Symphony under James Dixon.
7 March 1976
Davenport Masonic Auditorium, Iowa (Sunday 3pm
Tri-City Symphony under James Dixon.
9 March 1976
Hoyt Sherman Place, Des Moines, Iowa
(as 17 Mar. 1976)
11 March 1976
Columbia Township auditorium, Orangeburg, South Carolina
17 March 1976
Ambassador College, Pasadena, California
Max Reger's Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Telemann Op.134, Chopin's Polonaise No. 5 Op.44 in F sharp minor (rarely found in JB's repertoire), Liszt/Mozart "Don Juan"
Daniel Cariaga (Los Angeles Times): "Awesome. The pianist from Cuba remains unique: his taste is impeccable, his technique sovereign, his command of the repertory masterful. His playing may be the least self-indulgent in the entire pianistic world."
21 March 1976
Reynolds Auditorium, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Chopin 1, Franck
Piedmont Chamber Orchestra/Nicholas Harsanyi (Hungarian-American, 1913-1987; a pupil of Hubay, Bartók, Dohnányi, Kodály, and Leo Weiner at the Budapest Academy of Music)
20 April
Clowes Hall, Butler University, Indianapolis (9th Romantic Music Festival)
Hummel No.7 in A flat major, Sgambati in G minor Op.15 [introduced by JB in 1971]
Indianapolis Symphony/Oleg Kovalenko (1936, Kyiv - 2025)
Despite the national coverage that the festival had been gaining, the whole was only half full. The festival concluded with Adolphe Adam's ballet Les Mohicans (1837) based upon James Fenimore Cooper's "Last of the Mohicans", which had only been heard a couple of times since Paris in the 1830s
22 April 1976
McKay Auditorium, Tampa, Florida
Tchaikovsky 1
Florida Gulf Coast Symphony/ Irwin Hoffman
Also at:
23 April 1976, Van Wezel Hall, Sarasota
24 April 1976, Bayfront Theatre, St Petersburg
1 May 1976
Jewish Community Center, White Plains, New York
Benefit concert & champagne reception
On Saturday, 9 May 1976, Bolet flew from San Francisco to Tokyo for recitals/concertos in Japan on 14, 19, 20, 21 and 22. This was the first time he had been back in Japan since 1946. He was to perform there again in 1988.
14 May 1976
Bunka Kaikan Hall (Ueno Koen, Tokyo)
Bach-Busoni: Chaconne
Chopin: 24 Preludes Op. 28
Liszt: Three Petrarca Sonnets (From "Italy", Second Year of "Year of Pilgrimage")
Mozart-Liszt: "Don Giovanni" Fantasia
An advert for the Tokyo recital on 14 May of 'First visit of keyboard giant to Japan announces the Wagner/Liszt Tannhäuser overture, rather than the Don Juan Fantasy. The Japan Times (8.5.76) announced the recital as being in Tokyo Metropolitan Festival Hall, which is the Bunka Kaikan.
19 and 20 May 1976
NHK Hall, Shibuya Tokyo
Brahms, Piano Concerto No.2 in B flat op.83
Wolfgang Sawallisch and the NHK Symphony Orchestra
21 and 22 May 1976
Beethoven's Piano Concerto No.3 in C minor op.37
Wolfgang Sawallisch and the NHK Symphony Orchestra
25 May 1976
Arlington Performing Arts Center, Santa Barbara, CA
Liszt 2, Hungarian Fantasy {+ Bruckner 3]
Santa Barbara Symphony/Ronald Ondrejka
2 June 1976
Holland Festival, de Doelen, Rotterdam
Rachmaninoff's Paganini Variations
Radio Philharmonisch Orkest /Jean Fournet
Jorge spent 7 weeks (after the Holland Festival) at his hideaway in the Bay of Biscay (Fuenterrabia) though the arid conditions made it disappointing. "For seven weeks we sat on the terrace and cursed the weather." (Ottawa Journal 25 September, 1976)
5 August 1976
Tawes Fine Arts Center, U of Maryland, Baltimore
Liszt, Reger
JB had planned this but the pianist who was scheduled to appear got stranded in Europe.
27 September 1976
L'Institut Canadien in Québec City, Canada:
Haydn's E flat major Sonata, Schumann, Carnaval Op. 9 and the third sonata of Brahms in F minor (Op. 5).
Of one of his encores there is the charming comment: 'Généreux, Jorge Bolet a également présenté, avec un chic sans pareil, une "Valse Caprice” [Liszt] qui pourrait bien être de Mozkovsky.' ('He played - with an unequalled elegance and style - a Valse Impromptu by Liszt that could have been by Moriz Moszkowski.').
30 September, 1976, Ottawa, Ontario
Rachmaninoff 2 with Mario Bernardi in Rachmaninoff 2
He had last appeared in the city in November 1954. A pianist "whose playing was a monument to restraint [and] whose talents are no longer in full bloom", wrote Maureen Peterson in the Ottawa Journal. His performance was full of reflective nostalgia. "The tremendous warmth of Mr Bolet's touch gives u s a sweetness that has inner strength." Playing of utter discretion and soulfulness. "If his playing is no longer what it was, it is still an invaluable lesson in musical refinement." Two other papers were less generous, one feeling the audience had been cheated of the Rachmaninoff Experience.
5 October 1976
Spaulding Auditorium, Hopkins Center, Dartmouth, New Hampshire
(as 27 Sept. 1976)
12 October 1976
Klein zaal/ deOosterpoort, Groningen, Holland:
Joseph Haydn, Sonata in Es (Hoboken 16 no. 52); Robert Schumann, „Carnival" opus 9 Johannes Brahms, Sonata in f opus 5
20 October 1976
Teatro Real, Madrid (Haydn, Schumann, Liszt)
29 October 1976
Philharmonie, Berlin
Haydn, Sonata E-flat major; Schumann, Carnival; Brahms, Sonata in F minor op. 5.
12 November 1976
Town Hall, NYC
Gala
10/11 December 1976
Centennial Concert Hall, Winnipeg, Canada
Liszt's Hungarian Fantasy and Prokofiev 2
Winnipeg Symphony under Piero Gamba
1977
It is usually said that Bolet finally made a return to United Kingdom in 1977 for regular concerts, but he had visited periodically in the early 1970s. *See: March, October 1973, October, December 1974, October 1975.
15, 16 January 1977
Jorge's date book notes rehearsals ("ensayos") in Caracas, Venezuela
17 February 1977 (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-Impromptu, S.213 and Saint-Saëns/Godowsky: The Swan (from Carnival of the Animals).
25 February 1977
Royal Albert Hall, London
Piano Concerto No.2 in C Minor, Op.18
New Philharmonia and Yoav Talmi
He would appear there again on 6 October with Talmi and the LPO in Beethoven's Emperor Concerto.
14 March 1977
Teatro Tapia, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Haydn, Sonata No. 62 in E-flat major, Hob. XVI/52, Schumann's Carnaval Op.9 and Liszt (Petrarch Sonnets, Don Juan Fantasy).
It looks as if his previous appearance on the island was way back in October 1958.
23 April 1977
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Sioux Falls Symphony Orchestra/James Maclnnes
29/30 April 1977
Music Hall, 1241 Elm Street, Cincinnati, Ohio
Hummel, Piano Concerto in A flat major op. 113, Chopin, Andante Spianato & Grande Polonaise (piano only)
Cincinnati Symphony/Thomas Schippers (Music Director)
3 May 1977
Carnegie Hall, NYC
an all-Liszt recital which included the Sonata in B Minor, S.178 and Mozart/Liszt, Réminiscences de Don Juan, S.418
11 May 1977
Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Scotland
*The same programme as the famous Carnegie Hall 1974 recital
Jorge was staying at the famous North British Hotel, Edinburgh. The North British Station Hotel, opened in 1902 and now known as The Balmoral, is a luxury 5-star landmark at 1 Princes Street, Edinburgh. Designed in a Victorian/Scots Baronial style, it is famous for its clock tower, which runs three minutes fast to ensure passengers catch trains from adjacent Waverley Station. And Waverley Station is the only station in the world to be named after a novel (by Sir Walter Scott).
12 May 1977
City Hall, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England
15 June 1977
Konserthuset, Stockholm, Sweden
Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Sixten Ehrling.
It seems this was Jorge's first appearance again in the Swedish capital since June 1964.
There was a tour of Central (and possibly South) America in July 1977. On Saturday 2 July, Bolet had left for Mexico on AeroMéxico.
8 July 1977
Palacio de Bellas Artes, México City
Haydn sonata in E flat major, Schumann’s Carnaval, Liszt’s Sonnetti di Petrarca and Don Juan fantasy.
11 July 1977 (a date of the 5th is also given)
Teatro Degollado, Guadalajara (Jalisco, Mexico) recital
(replacing an indisposed fellow Cuban Horacio Gutierrez)
In a concert during this week (beginning 3rd June), Jorge replaced Polish-British-Canadian violinist Ida Haendel (1928-2020) who had cancelled due to the death of her mother. 'In her place the Cuban pianist Jorge Bolet played Liszt's First Concerto.
The concert was with the Filarmónica de las Americas under Polish conductor Stanisław Skrowaczewski, and was completed with Bartok's Miraculous Mandarin [A csodálatos mandarin, Op. 19, Sz. 73 (BB 82)] and Tchaikovsky's fourth symphony in F minor.
Jorge flew back on Saturday 9th to San Francisco. Was this flight (noted in his date-book) changed to accommodate the recital on 11th in Guadalajara? Or was the recital actually on the 5th?
On 16 July, Jorge arrived in the morning in Sydney on a Qantas flight from San Francisco via Honolulu, then continued immediately on to Adelaide, arriving at five o'clock in the evening. This was his second visit to Australia, the first being in 1965.
19 July 1977
Adelaide Town Hall: recital
After Launceston (Tasmania), he went to Melbourne, for Rachmaninoff's second concerto with Willem van Otterloo
Then Geelong, Broken Hill - an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, near the border with South Australia - thence to Sydney.
8 August 1977
Sydney Opera House
Chopin's third sonata and the Mozart/ Liszt Don Juan.
This would have been rather special as it will have been the first time Jorge had seen the new Opera House (1973). 'The sun did not know how beautiful its rays were, until it saw them reflected upon the roof of Sydney Opera House.'
Newcastle, NSW
?
12 August 1977
Town Hall, Wollongong
Recital
13 August 1977
Sydney Opera House
Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23
with David Zinman.
17-24 August 1977
Sydney Opera House
Brahms' Concerto No.2 in B flat and Rachmaninoff-Paganini (depending on Red/Blue series)
Willem van Otterloo
27 August 1977
Brisbane, City Hall
Concerto performed with David Zinman
29 August 1977
City Hall, Toowoomba, Queensland
Recital
31 August 1977
Adelaide
Concert with Elyakum Shapirra
6 September 1977
Perth Concert Hall, Perth, Western Australia
Recital
9/10 September 1977
Rachmaninoff 3
West Australian SO & Elyakum Shapirra
11 September 1977: departs Sydney by air.
2 October 1977
Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
Beethoven's Sonata No. 23 Op. 57, Schumann's Carnaval & Liszt's Dante Sonata.
Three Chopin-Godowsky études and a waltz as encores will have acted as a warm-up for the next two days.
3 & 4 October 1977 (aged 62)
Kingsway Hall, London
Recording a selection of Chopin/Godowsky Études and Waltzes.
(The next recording would be of Liszt in December 1978)
19 November 1977
Metropolitan Museum, New York City.
incl. Liszt's 12 Transcendental Etudes
Cristobal Diaz writing in El Mundo 7 November 1982 recalls "an unforgettable night" at the Teatro Tapia, San Juan, Puerto Rico in November 1977. Might he be thinking of March 1977?
14 December 1977
Curtis Hall, Philadelphia
Chopin, Frédéric, Barcarolle, op. 60, F# major; Fantasie, op. 49, F minor.
Schumann, Robert, Carnaval.
Liszt, Franz, Années de pèlerinage, 2e année (Selections)
1978
January 1978, The Netherlands
“The daily food of keyboard lions”
'The American keyboard lion of Cuban descent, Jorge Bolet, is giving a whole series of concerts in our country these days. He will perform with the Utrecht Symphony Orchestra under Willem van Otterloo tonight.
(Apparently Jorge did not care for van Otterloo: when he was informed that he had to play Franck and Weber in Utrecht under the baton of van Otterloo, he told a friend 'I thought they had exiled him to Australia!')
26 January 1978
Tivoli/Vredenburg, Utrecht, Holland
27 January 1978
Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Holland
César Franck's Symphonic Variations
Utrecht Symphony Orchestra under Willem van Otterloo
30 January 1978
Arnhem, Holland
Recital:Etudes by Godowsky. Beethoven's Appassionata, Rachmaninoff's Variations on a Theme by Chopin and Liszt's Dante Fantasy.
31 January 1978
Groningen, Holland
Recital
2 February 1978
De Bilt, Holland
8 February 1978
La Jolla, San Siego, California
Recital
14 February 1978
Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jorge gave a private recital of some two hours to friends, sometimes playing just selected passages. Of great interest is that he played movements 1,3 and 4 of Chopin's Sonata No.2 in B flat minor Op.35, and also Godowsky's weird and wonderful transformation ('Concert Paraphrase', if you will) of Chopin's Grand Valse Brillante Op.18 in E flat
20 & 21 March, 1978
Boettcher Concert Hall in the Denver Center for the Performing Arts
Rachmaninoff/Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini
Denver Symphony Orchestra/ Gaetano Delogu
26 (Easter Sunday) & 27 March 1978
Philharmonie, Berlin
Tschaikowsky, Konzert für Klavier und Orchester Nr. 1 b-moll
conductor Yuri Ahronovitch
March 1978, Jorge performed Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini with Christof Prick conducting the Badische Staatskapelle (Karlsruhe, Germany).
28 March 1978
Malmö, Sweden
21/22 April 1978
Centennial Concert Hall, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Liszt 1, Rachmaninoff 3
Winnipeg SO and Piero Gamba
1 June 1978
Royal Albert Hall, London
Liszt, Piano Concerto No.1 in E Flat
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra/ Paavo Berglund
[Symphonic Poems 'Vltava' and 'Sarka', Smetana; Symphony No.4 in F Minor, Op.36, Tchaikovsky]
3 June 1978
Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Scotland
Rachmaninoff 2
Scottish National Orchestra under Sir Alexander Gibson
In July 1978, there was a trip to Brazil for concerts. He took an American Airlines flight on Monday 3 July at 8.30pm, arriving Tuesday morning in Rio de Janeiro.
6 July 1978
Sala Cecilia Meireles, Largo do Lapa, Rio de Janeiro
Funerailles and the 12 Transcendental Etudes
8 July 1978
Palacio Boa Vista, Campos do Jordão, Brazil
Liszt’s Consolations 1and 2, the B minor Sonata, Petrarch Sonnets 47,104 and 123 and the Reminiscences of Don Juan (as part of the Winter Festival)
10/12 July 1978
Casa de Manchete/ Teatro Cultura Artistica, São Paulo, Brazil
recitals
On Thursday 13 he flew on American Airlines flight 251 to Buenos Aires, Argentina, but does not appear to have played in that city in July. On Sunday 16 July, he flew on AA370 to Mexico City (masterclasses on 18, 20 and 21). He presumably gave concerts; his date book mentions Tepotzotlán, 25 miles north-west of Mexico City.
7 August 1978
Murray Theater, Ravinia, Illinois
Bach-Busoni, Schumann, Liszt and Mozart-Liszt
11/12 August 1978
Blossom Music Centre, an outdoor amphitheatre at Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat, Op.83
The Cleveland Orchestra under Jerzy Semkow
Jorge had not played with this orchestra in 19 [?] years: see 14 November 1944 and 7 April 1959 (the latter with George Szell).
Strangely, Jorge never performed in the orchestra's Severance Concert Hall on Euclid Ave., only downtown or at its summer home, Blossom Music Center.
16 August 1978
Schloss Esterházy, Eisenstadt, Austria (Haydn Festival)
Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Concerto No.5 in A flat major op. 113
21 August 1978,
Vienna, Austria
concerto/recital?
8, 10 & 12 September 1978
Blaisdell Concert Hall, Honolulu, Hawaii
Chopin 1
with conductor Robert LaMarchina
12 November 1978
Mexico City
Rachmaninoff's Third Concerto
Orquesta Filarmónica de la Ciudad de México and Polish conductor Andrzej Markowski (Jorge had performed with Markowski in Poland in 1961). But the Baldwin piano had not been secured and crashed off the stage.
25 November 1978
Reichhold Center, St Thomas, US Virgin Islands
Brahms's seven pieces of Op.116, Handel Variation Op.24, Godowsky arrangements of Chopin.
7-9 December 1978
Kingsway Hall, London
Jorge records Liszt: Three Concert Studies S144, Two Concert Studies S145 (Gnomenreigen, Waldesrauschen), and Liszt/Mozart, Réminiscences de Don Juan S418 in , for Decca/L'Oiseau-lyre, with Peter Wadland - who did so much for JB's career - as producer.
The next recording would be Reger/Telemann & Brahms/Handel in February/March 1980
13 December 1978
QEH, London, with the Juilliard Quartet
Haydn Op. 71 no. 1 in B flat, Bartok 2 and Schubert's Trout Quintet (with Donald Palma on double bass)
18 and 19 December 1978
Coolidge Auditorium of the Library of Congress, Washington DC
Juilliard String Quartet's autumn season featured the works of Franz Schubert, in honour of the 150th anniversary of his death
Schubert's "Trout" Quintet (Forellenquintett), the Piano Quintet in A major, D. 667
Rachmaninoff: Cello Sonata in G minor, Op.19
Joel Krosnick, cello / Jorge Bolet, piano
In July 1983 in Gramado (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil), Jorge will again take on the piano part in this work.
1979-80
9 January 1979
New Orleans Theater for the Performing Arts
Brahms, Schubert, Liszt, Godowsky.
21 & 23 January 1979
Chrysler Hall, Norfolk, Virginia
Chopin: Piano Concerto No.1 in E minor, Op.11
Russell Stanger / Norfolk Symphony Orchestra
Encore: Schumann/Liszt: Widmung, Op.25 No.1 (S.566)
1, 2, 3, 6 February 1979
Academy of Music, Philadelphia?
Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 3
Philadelphia Orchestra under William Smith
16 February 1979
Carnegie Hall, NYC
Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18 (1900-1901),
NDR Symphony Orchestra of Hamburg and Zdenek Mácal
21 February 1979
Paramount Theatre, Austin, Texas
Brahms Op.116, Schubert Wanderer Fantasy, Liszt Dante Sonata, Chopin/Godowsky
& 5 encores.
3 March, 1979
Carnegie Hall, NYC
Winnipeg SO and Piero Gamba played Carnegie Hall for the first time in an extravaganza.
Jorge was one of four pianists playing Vivaldi/Bach's Concerto in A Minor for 4 harpsichords BWV 1065.
20 March 1979
Philharmonie, Berlin
Brahms Fantasias op. 116, Handel Variations; Chopin Four Ballades
21 April 1979
University of California, Riverside
Recital of Brahms (Fantasies Op.116), Schubert (Fantasy in C major, D.760, Op.15, Wanderer) and Leopold Godowsky
Chopin/Godowsky: Six Etudes
o Op.10 No.5 in G-flat major (Study No.12 in G-flat major | inversion)
o Op.10 No.3 in E major (Study No.5 in D-flat major | for the left hand alone)
o Op.25 No.1 in A-flat major (Study No.25 in A-flat major)
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.7 in C major (Study No.15 in G-flat major | Nocturne)
o Op.10 No.1 in C major (Study No.1 in C major)
Godowsky: Two Concert Arrangements of Waltzes by Frédéric Chopin
o Op.64 No.3 in A-flat major
o Op.70 No.3 in D-flat major
Godowsky: Concert Paraphrase on Chopin’s Waltz in E-flat major, Op.18 (*a particularly exotic concoction, which I once thought Jorge never played - apart from his 1977 recording for L'Oiseau-lyre)
10 May 1979
Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
Chopin, 4 Ballades; Chopin-Godowsky (6 études & 3 waltzes)
Jorge Bolet being presented by de Koos, 'his only London recital this season'.
25 May 1979
Kennedy Center, Washington DC
Liszt, D Flat Consolation, Funerailles and the B Minor Sonata; three Liszt transcriptions of Schubert songs; Don Juan Fantasy.
In June/July 1979, Jorge was in Argentina and Uruguay. He flew on 18 June to Buenos Aires. His date book manetions repertoire (see below but also: Chopin, Barcarolle, Fantasy in F minor Op.49, Sonata No.3, Ballades, Rachmaninoff's third concerto and Weber's Konzertstücke)
10 July 1979
Teatro Solís, Montevideo, Uruguay
21 July 1979
Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires, Argentina (his only appearance in this fabled venue.
Bach/Busoni Ciaccona, Liszt's Sonata and his Transcendental Études 7, 6, 12, 9 and 8.
7 August 1979
University of Maryland 9th piano festival, College Park, Maryland
A selection of Godowsky's studies on Etudes by Chopin,"Fantasies, Op. 116" of Brahms, Hungarian Rhapsody No.12 (Liszt)
At the Edinburgh Festival, summer of 1979, Jorge gave masterclasses (advertised in The Times at the end of March as to be held during 24 August-2 September) on Liszt 1, Rachmaninoff Paganini and Brahms 2, all with orchestra.
30 October 1979
Hamburg, Germany
Leopold Godowsky's arrangements of Chopin, Brahms, Liszt, Dante Fantasy.
2 November 1979
Freiburg, West Germany
Liszt: Six Consolations, S.172
12 Études d’exécution transcendante, S.139, in a special order
9 November 197
Elmwood Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland
11 November, 1979
Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
Liszt, 6 Consolations, Transcendental Etudes.
16-18 November 1979
Long Island Philharmonic, Christopher Keene
21, 23, 24 November 1979
Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1
Chicago Symphony/ (Sir) Andrew Davis
The programme for this concert lists Gary Graffman as soloist, but he an injury to his hand in 1977 was causing him gradually to cease performing with his right hand altogether by around 1979, and he was replaced here by Jorge Bolet.
26 November, 1979
Uihlein Hall, Milwaukee
(as 21st etc, Chicago)
1980
"Jorge Bolet who is fast becoming a living legend..." Betty Dietz Krebbs (March 1980)
"I've taken the Liszt E-flat concerto out of my repertoire. I got so tired of playing it. Once it got to be a chore, I decided that's the time to stop." Syracuse Herald (1 Feb. 1980)
18 January 1980
Symphony Hall (1280 Peachtree St.), Atlanta, Georgia
Beethoven, Andante Favori
Brahms, Sonata No.3
Rameau, R.Strauss, Schubert and Weber {Godowsky]
1, 2 February 1980
Crouse-Hinds Theater, Syracuse, New York
Syracuse Symphony/Christopher Keene
Prokofiev 2
4 February 1980
Fort Myers, Florida
6 February 1980
Riverside Theater, Vero Beach (at the Indian river), Miami, Florida
"On a gorgeous new grand the Association has just purchased". Earlier that week, Vincent Price had been doing his one-man Oscar Wilde show)
12-13-16, February 1980
Music Hall, Kansas City, Missouri
Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor”
Kansas City Philharmonic Orch./Maurice Peress
21 February 1980
Town Hall, Birmingham, England
Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor”
CBSO/Erich Bergel
29 February-2 March,1980
In Kingsway Hall, London, JB records:
BRAHMS Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel Op.24
REGER Variations & Fugue on a Theme of Telemann Op.134
A recording which is often forgotten.
18 March 1980
George Washington High School Auditorium, Daneville, Virginia
(as 18 Jan. 1980)
21/22 March 1980
Music Hall, Cincinnati, Ohio
Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor Op.11
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under the young Japanese conductor Kazuhiro Koizumi
'He can play Chopin so soft and sweet you would swear he was stroking a baby's skin.'
(Nancy Malitz, The Cincinnati Enquirer)
27 March 1980
Kansas City Music Hall
William Jewell College presents JB in recital
(as 18 Jan. 1980)
29, 30 March 1980
Kleinhans Music Hall, Buffalo, New York
Franck – Symphonic Variations for Piano and Orchestra
Liszt – Piano Concerto No.2 in A major
Buffalo PO and Irwin Hoffman, guest conductor
2 April 1980
Gano Hall, William Jewell College, Liberty, Missouri
9 April 1980
Alice Tully Hall, NYC
with Guarneri Quartet: Schubert, Quartet in G minor, Faure, Quartet in E minor, Dohnányi, Piano Quintet in C minor.
12 April 1980
Rider College, New Brunswick, New Jersey
18 April 1980
Carnegie Hall, NYC.
The programme included Schumann's Carnaval (Scènes Mignonnes sur Quatre Notes) Op.9, Weber/Godowsky, Contrapuntal Paraphrase on 'Invitation to the Dance' Op.65 and Liszt's Dante Sonata.
Daily News: 'The incredible hulk of the piano, Jorge Bolet will give his usual marathon of...'
22 April 1980
Academy of Music, Philadelphia
(as 18 Apr. 1980)
a marvellous recital, but "oddly, in repertory in which he has made such an impact, Bolet's command was below his own standard." Daniel Webster, Phila. Inquirer
14 May 1980
Bushnell Memorial Hall,166 Capitol Street in Hartford, Connecticut
Grieg Concerto
Hartford Symphony/ Arthur Winograd
15, 16 May 1980
Louisville, Kentucky
In Central & South America
26 May 1980
National Theatre, Panamá City, Panamá
Recital
A newspaper review dated 26 May 1980 (so concert earlier) of a concerto with Armando Krieger and the Orquesta Sinfónica del Sodre (in Montevideo, Uruguay)?
12 June 1980
Teatro Nacional, San José, Costa Rica
Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 4
Conductor Agustín Cullell
24 June 1980
Mann Music Center, Philadelphia (al fresco theatre)
Rachmaninoff 2
Philadelphia Orchestra/Mehli Mehta
27 June 1980
Brigham Young Summer Piano Festival, Provo, Utah
incl. Schumann's Carnaval, Liszt, Dante Sonata and Weber/Godowsky).
(as 18 Apr. 1980)
Heterofonía 70, México (July-September 1980) mentions that JB performed Liszt 1 and the Hungarian Fantasy in Mexico City with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional under Guatemalan conductor and composer Jorge Sarmientos.
26 July 1980
Baxter Concert Hall, Cape Town, South Africa
recital for Cape Town Concert Club (Die Kaapstadse Konsertklub), 16 years since he last played there (Die Transvaler 24.7.80).
3 August 1980
Civic Theatre (Stadskouburg), Johannesburg, South Africa
Recital as Carnegie Hall on 18 April
5 August 1980
Musaion, Pretoria, South Africa
all-Liszt
[?] August 1980
Potchefstroom, South Africa
all-Liszt
7 August 1980, Johannesburg (?), South Africa.
National Symphony Orchestra of the SABC (South African Broadcasting) with the Israeli conductor Elyakum Shapirra
12 August 1980
Esterházy Castle, Eisenstadt, Austria
Recital
15 August 1980
Esterházy Castle, Eisenstadt, Austria
Beethoven's 4th piano concerto in G major Esterházy Castle
25 August 1980
Freemasons Hall, Edinburgh for the Edinburgh International Festival
Brahms: Variations on a Theme by Handel Op.24
Liszt: Petrarch Sonnet 123, Dante Sonata
Weber arr. Godowsky: Invitation to the Dance
The critic of the Dublin Evening Herald, Fanny Feehan, spotted JB in a front seat of the audience at a Claudio Arrau recital at the Usher Hall.
28 September 1980
Brighton, England
Tchaikovsky No. 1
2 October 1980
Hamburg
Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23
Mendelssohn Songs without words, Schumann Carnaval, Chopin Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor
7 October 1980
Woolsey Hall, New Haven, Connecticut
Mozart [No. 15 in B flat major K450]
New Haven Symphony/Murray Sidlin
8-10 October 1980
Andrew jackson Hall, Nashville, Tennessee
Franck, Liszt 2
(replacing Lazar Berman: see 18-28th)
Nashville Symphony
18 October 1980
California Theater, San Bernardino, CA.
Mozart [No. 15 in B flat major K450] and Prokofiev 2
San Bernardino Symphony/ Alberto Bolet
9 November 1980
Metropolitan Museum, New York City
Rachmaninoff 3
16-18 November (Sat/Sun) Vancouver, Canada
Brahms Piano Concerto No.2
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra under Kazuyoshi Akiyama.
He was replacing Lazar Berman, whose cancellation - due to diplomatic difficulties between the US and USSR due to the invasion of Afghanistan - was announced early on the season. [Of Bolet:] "It was like the substitution of one diamond for another of equal or even greater brilliance."
(*Bolet played in Vancouver, for example, on Sunday, 1 November 1953, and was advertised for the 1954-55 season. On 12/13 January 1964 he played Beethoven's fourth piano concerto.)
25 November 1980 (7:30pm)
Recital at Royal College of Music, Manchester, England
incl. Haydn’s E flat sonata, Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No.12, Liszt Sonata, Brahms/Handel variations.
26 November 1980
Vernon Gallery, Preston; same recital as Manchester
28 November 1980
Groningen (Holland) recital
30 November 1980
Amsterdam
Jorge mingled the Ballades and Scherzos of Chopin together.
Ballade No.1 in G minor, Op.23
Scherzo No.1 in B minor, Op.20
Ballade No.2 in F major, Op.38
Scherzo No.2 in B-flat minor, Op.31
...
Scherzo No.3 in C-sharp minor, Op.39
Ballade No.3 in A-flat major, Op.47
Scherzo No.4 in E major, Op.54
Ballade No.4 in F minor, Op.52
2 December 1980
Twickenham, St. Margaret’s Church
Chopin 4 Scherzi, Liszt Sonata and Rhapsody #12.
8 & 9 December 1980
concerto with the orchestra of Stadt Hagen (Germany) and Michael Halasz
10 December 1980
Hamburg recital
HAYDN: Andante and Variations in f; BRAHMS: Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op 24; LISZT: Sonata in B minor; Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12
14 December 1980 (3pm)
Orchestra Hall, Chicago USA
recital