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Jorge Bolet in Uruguay

  • Blue Pumpkin
  • 2 days ago
  • 2 min read

I'd always been surprised not to find that Jorge had played in Montevideo, only a short hop across the water from Buenos Aires. I've now found two concerts: July 1979 and June 1982


La Semana de El Día N° 51 (29 December 1979), under the heading "Pianist of the Year (in recital)" reported: 'This North American pianist was a revelation, a giant of the keyboard, whom our audience watched in awe, in a unique, legendary Liszt recital on July 10 at the Teatro Solís. With superhuman strength, he broke two piano strings, and he's returning next year. Not to be missed.'


Construction of the Teatro Solís, located in the historic centre of Montevideo, began in 1842—just 17 years after Uruguay's independence—and it was inaugurated in 1856. It is the oldest theatre in South America. It was named in memory and commemoration of the navigator Juan Díaz de Solís, the first European explorer to reach the Río de la Plata.


Opinar (1 July 1982) reports of a concert in Montevideo, Uruguay (Saturday 12 June, in the Teatro Solís) with Brazilian conductor Isaac Karabtchewsky (born 1934) and the Sodre Symphony Orchestra, the national orchestra. 'The great Cuban-American pianist was at the second concert conducted by Karabtchewsky. He belongs to that category of pianists who continue the tradition of brilliant virtuosity. For this reason, he is considered a Liszt specialist, although in reality he is a first-class interpreter of different musical languages ​​and styles. He performed Concerto No. 2 and the Hungarian Fantasia for piano and orchestra, both Liszt compositions. Two unhappy works by the Hungarian, empty, repetitive, uninspired—except for some rich passages—but technically dazzling. Only Bolet's great skill allows one to listen to these works with any interest.'  Stravinsky' Rite of Spring was the other work, and the reviewer was delighted with the conductor's handling of the orchestra in a work that had pervasively seemed 'impossible for our orchestra. Let him come back!'


In La Democracia (Montevideo), 16 June 1982, Paco Sánchez writes: In the first half, Cuban-American pianist Jorge Bolet managed—despite the unbearable works chosen—to demonstrate his mastery of the keyboard, overcoming some smudges and perhaps forgetfulness (?), and managing to elicit from that the piano of the orchestra (which many Uruguayan soloists fear) a clear, unaffected, and certainly much more energetic sound than that required, for example, in Concerto No. 2. I would say that, ultimately, the most accomplished moment was the slow section, in which the piano engages in a dialogue with the cello played by the solid Victor Addiego, which is also the only redeeming feature of this work. Despite Liszt's emphatic verbosity and the excessive fondness for affectation (especially in the Hungarian Fantasia), the conductor ensured that the orchestra maintained a sober balance. Off-program, Bolet performed a delightful short piece by Mozkowski, to which he seemed to transition comfortably.

There is a less enthusiastic though still complimentary review of Stravinsky's Le Sacre du Printemps

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