Santos Ojeda (January 18, 1917 – May 27, 2004) was a Cuban-born American classical pianist and pedagogue. His early years remind me of those of Jorge Bolet - note also enlistment in the U.S. Army - , but his name is new to me Ojeda was born in Caibarién in the province of Villa Clara, Cuba. He began studying piano at age 3 with his mother, Maria Luisa Valdes de Ojeda. His skills developed rapidly and he was discovered by conductor and composer Alejandro García Caturla, who accompanied a 15-year-old Ojeda for the premier in Cuba of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. At age 17 he moved to New York City to study with assistants to Josef Lhévinne and Rosina Lhévinne of The Juilliard School of Music, but was ultimately accepted directly, becoming the first ever foreign-born student admitted to Juilliard. Later he enlisted in the U.S. Army to serve in World War II. After the end of WW II, he stayed in Europe for a time and advanced his studies with Yves Nat of the Paris Conservatoire. With his return to New York City, he resumed his studies at Juilliard with Rosina Lhévinne, ultimately graduating with honors with a Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance followed by a Master’s degree. Later he received the Professional Diploma from Columbia University.

My first thought was that Jorge Bolet was teaching a young John McEnroe, later an international tennis player! Does anyone know who the student actually is? (I think it's when JB was at Bloomington, Indiana (1968-77)

1 February 1982, Hamman Hall, Rice University, Houston, Texas. Fantasy in F-sharp minor, op. 28 / Felix Mendelssohn -- Fantasy in C major, op. 17 / Robert Schumann -- Five Lieder/ Franz Schubert ; transcribed by Franz Liszt -- Mephisto Waltz / Franz Liszt.   LINK to recording He played the same programme on 8 February 1982: Van Wezel Auditorium, Sarasota, Florida.  Recital includes Schumann's Fantasy , 5 Schubert/Liszt Lieder and the Mephisto  waltz. 'His fingers are made of steel but the tips have the Midas Touch - except that what he touches turns into liquid, not solid gold. It flows endlessly with a mellifluous shading from strength to gentleness.  Surprisingly, he is very undramatic himself.  No fuss, no feathers, and rarely a smile.' ​ It was in this month (and later, in September) that Bolet began recording for Decca the material that would constitute volume 1 of his Liszt series (Decca SXDL 7596 [LP]), issued in March 1983.    Producer: Peter Wadland 17-19 February, 1982 Kingsway Hall, LondonLiszt, Funérailles  S173/7 Hungarian Rhapsody S244/12 Rigoletto  - paraphrase de concert S434 Mephisto Waltz No.1 S514

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

In a BBC television interview in 1968, Bernard Levin asked Rubinstein if it helped for the audience to have a technical knowledge of the music they are hearing. He replied with a comment from "witty Godowsky". On tour in Brazil early in 1920, Arthur Rubinstein had an attack of guilt over his inadequate practising. 'Once in Rio,' he told [Samuel] Chotzinoff, 'I ran into the great pianist Godowsky in the lobby of my hotel. "I'm coming to hear your tonight," Godowsky said, beaming. I blanched. "Please, please don't come," I implored. "It is impossible to fake in front of you."  Harvey Sachs, Rubinstein: a life , (1995), 192

Res Gestae: The Stony Brook School Yearbook 1955 records a rectal by Jorge at his old high school on Long Island (Class of 1934) on 14 October with a well-meaning but less than flattering entry: 'Jorge Bolet, Cuba's answer to Liberace, gives dazzling performance; but even more dazzling are the thirty-eight Knoxers.' The reference is to The Knox School (female boarding and day school on the north shore of Long Island), whose students presumably also attended the recital. On 15th: 'Hurricane Hazel rocks the Brook, causing candlelight evening study.' (Photo: some of the editorial team with member of staff) The Latin phrase Res Gestae literally means "things done" or more generally "deeds". It ultimately derives from Res Gestae Divi Augusti (The Deeds of the Divine Augustus), a monumental inscription composed by the first Roman emperor, Augustus, giving a first-person record of his life and accomplishments. The text was completed just one month before Augustus' death (19 August AD 14), although most of its content was written years earlier and likely went through many revisions. The original, which has not survived, was engraved upon a pair of bronze pillars and placed in front of Augustus' mausoleum. Many copies of the text were made and carved in stone on monuments or temples throughout the Roman Empire, some of which have survived; most notably, almost a full copy, written in the original Latin and a Greek translation was preserved on a temple to Augustus in Ancyra (the Monumentum Ancyranum of Ankara, Turkey); others have been found at Apollonia and Antioch, both in Pisidia.

The great Austrian pianist, Alfred Brendel died at his home in Hampstead, north London on 17 June 2025. I was privileged to hear him many times, including his final London recital at the Royal Festival Hall in 2008. For me, tho For me, he is the first pianist to whom I turn for Beethoven and Schubert. It's interesting that are well-known (and - it may respectfully be said - highly opinionated) online YouTube CD critic asked last year: "Whatever Happened to Alfred Brendel?", the implication presumably (?) being that the music-loving public had somehow forgotten about him and his legacy since his retirement in 2008. Well, the outpouring of memories and gratitude all across the Internet over the last 24 hours hs shown that we didn't forget him. I have many memories, but one that sticks in the mind was the RFH London one June when he included Schubert's A minor Sonata D845; in the trio of scherzo , I recall closing my eyes and thinking, "It doesn't get better than this". Another would be his encore after Beethoven's "Waldstein: the Andante favori in F Major, WoO 57 and the striking modulation to G flat major and back to F for the ecstatic conclusion at the end (8'24"). And as a delightful extra - from a masterclass in Jerusalem (1983) - watch him demonstrate how the rippling, descending figure early on in Beethoven's Sonata No. 30 in E major Op.109 should be played. ( whole video here ). -When were you happiest? - When I discovered bread and butter pudding.

Jorge Bolet stayed at the Moana Hotel on Waikiki beach, October 1962 In October 1962, Jorge performed in Honolulu. A local newspaper reported that he was staying at the Moana Hotel. This was a well-established and iconic landmark on Waikiki Beach. The hotel, which opened in 1901, was known for its European-inspired architecture, including Ionic columns and intricate woodwork. It had a grand porte cochere on the street side and wide lanais [lānai = a type of roofed, open-sided veranda, patio, or porch originating in Hawaii] on the ocean side. In 1962, some guest rooms with telephones and bathrooms. A postcard from 1962 shows the hotel on the beach. ​​ In August 1922, author Agatha Christie stayed on holiday. In February 1905, Jane Stanford, co-founder of Stanford University, died of strychnine poisoning in a room at the Moana Hotel. Stanford is believed to have been murdered, but the source of the strychnine was never identified.

Jorge Bolet, Hong Kong (March 1987). Two clippings from the South China Morning Post.

Musical America , February 1950 notes that Jorge will have Ludwig Lustig (of Ludwig Lustig Artists' Management) as his personal representative.  In 1949, Lustig was noted as the New York representative of the Havana Philharmonic for the ninth year (his agency seems to have been formed in 1941).  The address is given as 11, West 42nd Street, suite 1302.  Mr. Lustig was born and educated in Berlin. In 1938, while waiting for his immigration visa to the United States, he became the manager of the Havana Philharmonic in Cuba. There he presented such artists as Roberta Peters, Robert Merrill, Richard Tucker and Renata Tebaldi. He opened his own management office in New York in 1959 [? according to his  New York Times  obituary] and ran the business until his retirement in 1988.  He died in August 1994, aged 94.  Among the artists he represented was noted soprano Beverly Sills, a client for 23 years.  In her autobiography, Sills notes that Lustig (in 1957) was 'a polite, middle-aged gent with an enormous nose - he looked just like [conductor] William Steinberg.  His client list didn't include a single star but [bass-baritone born in New Orleans] Norman Treigle told me Lustig worked very hard for his people.  And Norman proved to be right.  I had [previously] noted that he used to come backstage to wish his clients luck.  I thought that very sweet.'

Bolet Played the Piano—and Not Gently A tongue-in-cheek review from De Volk 9.5.1935. I include the Dutch below: though this ChatGPT translation flows well and idiomatically, it may miss things. Critics are lazy creatures. If you don’t keep them busy, they are quite capable of spending a quiet evening at home. And naturally: that’s not what critics are for. So we can do no less than congratulate Dr. De Koos on his brilliant idea to use the one evening that the Dutch Music Festival 1935 took a break to organize an intense piano recital—something like a job-creation project for idle arts journalists. And anyone who still doubted that this piano evening was especially intended for gentlemen critics would have been thoroughly cured of their doubts by simply counting the heads in the Kleine Zaal (Small Hall) of the Concertgebouw, where the event took place. Jorge Bolet didn’t play much, but he played long and loud. He had come all the way from Cuba for the occasion, which is a respectable distance. One can hardly blame him, then, for taking full advantage of the opportunity and going all out—especially since it's likely he won’t be getting his hands on an Amsterdam piano again anytime soon. The only unfortunate part was that César Franck bore the brunt of it. On the other hand: the gentleman is dead, and it’s thus a harmless pleasure to send him once more to the celestial hunting grounds. Who could be a more agreeable target for that than his Prélude, Choral et Fugue? Certainly not Jorge Bolet. And as for Beethoven—he can take a beating. With that composer’s Appassionata, Bolet provided the legal and convincing proof that one can be loud without being passionate. “Crime without passion” is what they call something like that when it’s a movie title. What we appreciated most, however, were the pianist’s tempi, which made it (to borrow from Constantijn Huygens) “done in a jiffy.” And though we nearly dozed off during Chopin’s E-flat major Étude—let’s say from sheer exhaustion—Jorge Bolet woke us quite thoroughly with the first fortissimo chord of the A minor Étude, so thoroughly in fact that we remained awake the entire night that followed. Seriously: that Nocturne and that Waltz were worth it. Why can’t Bolet restrain himself like that all the time? But he’ll forgive us, we hope, for letting Liszt rustle away in the woods and Godowsky shape-shift waltz themes from Johann Strauss’ Die Fledermaus. Critics are lazy creatures... Bolet speelde piano en niet zachtzinnig Critici zijn luie wezens. Als je ze niet bezighoudt, zijn ze warempel in staat, een avond rustig thuis te blijven. En het spreekt vanzelf: daarvoor zijn ze geen critici. Wij kunnen dan ook niet anders, dan dr. De Koos gelukwensen met zijn lumineuze gedachte, de éne avond dat het Nederlandse Muziekfeest 1935 vrij-af gaf, te benutten voor het beleggen van een hevig piano-recital, een soort werkverschaffingsobject voor leeglopende kunstverslaggevers. En wie nog mocht hebben getwijfeld, dat deze piano-avond bijzonderlijk voor heren-critici was uitgeschreven, zou door het tellen van de koppen in de Kleine Zaal van het Concertgebouw, waar de gebeurtelijkheid zich voltrok, van deze zijn twijfel af doend zijn genezen. Jorge Bolet dan speelde niet veel, maar lang en hard. Hij was daarvoor helemaal van Cuba gekomen, wat een respectabele, afstand is. Men kan hem daarom moeilijk kwalijk nemen, dat hij van de gelegenheid gebruik maakte en hem raakte, want het is te voorzien, dat hij vooreerst geen Amsterdamse piano meer onder handen krijgt. Het enige spijtige was maar, dat César Pranck er de dupe van werd. Aan de andere kant: deze heer is dood en het is derhalve een onschuldig genoegen, hem nóg eens naar de zalige jachtvelden te zenden. Wie zou daartoe een gezelliger object hebben kunnen bedenken dan zijn „Prélude, choral et fugue”? Jorge Bolet stellig niet. En wat Beethoven betreft, die kan tegen een stootje. Bolet leverde met de „Appassionata” van dien noten-schrijver het wettige en overtuigende bewijs, dat men luidruchtig kan zijn en toch niet gepassioneerd. „Misdaad zonder hartstocht” noemen ze zo-iets, als het om een filmtitel gaat. Het meest van al waardeerden wij echter des pianisten tempi, die maakten, dat het (om met Constantijn Huygens te spreken) „met een wip gedaan” was. En toen wij desondanks bij Chopin’s Es-dur-Etude in slaap dreigden te raken — laat onze zeggen: van vermoeienis — wekte Jorge Bolet ons met het eerste fortissimo-aqcoord in de a-moll-Etude zo afdoend, dat de afgelopen nacht voor ons een slapeloze gebleven is. In ernst: deze Nocturne en deze wals mochten er wezen. Waarom beheerst Bolet zich niet overal zó? Maar hij zal het ons vergeven, dat wij Liszt in het woud hebben laten ruisen en Godowsky gedaanteverwisselingen plegen met wals-theama’s uit Joh. Strauss’ „Vleermuis”. Critici zijn luie wezens... into english

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