The Mail & Globe, Toronto (April 1975) 17 April 1975; Eaton Auditorium, Toronto, Canada.  [JB's Toronto recital début] Mendelssohn, Chopin, Sonata No.3, Liszt Petrarch + Tannhäuser   'When you consider, he's been playing professionally for more than 40 years, he seems to have taken his time getting up here. But then, as he says "I've been a long time arriving everywhere."'

Michael Steinberg wrote a long and considered review in The Boston Globe (4.8.1974) of Jorge Bolet's Carnegie Hall recording whoch RCA issued in August 1974 Carl Michael Alfred Steinberg (4 October 1928 – 26 July 2009) was an American music critic and author who specialised in classical music. He was best known, according to San Francisco Chronicle music critic Joshua Kosman, for "the illuminating, witty and often deeply personal notes he wrote for the San Francisco Symphony's program booklets, beginning in 1979." He contributed several entries to the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, wrote articles for music journals and magazine, notes for CDs, and published a number of books on music, both collected published annotations and new writings. Born in Breslau, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland). In 1939, Steinberg was among the 10,000 child refugees transported out of Germany via the Kindertransport; he and his mother settled in England.

In noting down that Jorge Bolet gave summer masterclasses at Indiana during 17-21 June, 1974, I recalled a witty remark from the transcript of one masterclass -  not necessarily at Indiana  - where he emphasised that the melody must always be brought out (something he always demonstrated in his own playing). He said something like: "I have given hundreds of concerts, and I've never known anyone to pay the price of admission to hear an Alberti bass."

Jorge never was a man for reading many books but, for sure, he knew which books to read. Mark Twain's 'Letters from earth' (which JB once recommended to a journalist) is certainly one of them. Jorge usualy read many magazines when on tour. These were mostly about cars, photography and cameras. He went crazy when in the USA the Canon A1 came out. As he knew that I also loved photography, he bought one for me as in Europe the A1 was not yet on the market. Mattheus Smits The Canon A-1 was released in April 1978, with marketing and availability in the USA and worldwide following shortly after. It was introduced as a high-end, advanced 35mm SLR, notable for being the first camera to offer a fully programmed automatic exposure mode. Production ran from 1978 to 1985 It is occasionally stated in articles on Jorge Bolet that he exhibited photographs in Central and South America, but I've never come across any details. Does anyone know?

There's a bit of drudgery leafing through masses of newspaper reviews, but it's worth it when you come across a jewel like this. 31 January 1971 (Sunday, 3pm) Fair Lawn High School, Fair Lawn, New Jersey, USA Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.31 in A-flat major, Op.110 Liszt: 12 Études d’exécution transcendante, S.139: 7. Eroica, 5. Feux Follets, 9. Ricordanza, 8. Wilde Jagd Chopin: 24 Preludes, Op.28 Encores: Schumann/Liszt: Widmung, Op.25 No.1 (S.566), Chopin: Waltz in D-flat major, Op.64 No.1 (Minute Waltz) ​​​ For The Record  (Hackensack, NJ) 1.2.1071 David Spengler wrote: 'These gems [Chopin's Preludes] are usually programmed in clusters of three or four, only as part of a pianists, romantic group. It was stumbling on treasure to find them gathered in the concert hall... Bolet achieves a rippling configuration in scale-work and arpeggios that I don't recall from any other pianists, particularly effective in his playing of the F sharp minor Prelude. 'And his presentation of the D minor prelude which closes the book (do you recall it from the old movie, The picture of Dorian Gray? ) was a massive gate of hell clanging shut.' The 1945 film adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray , directed by Albert Lewin, prominently features Frédéric Chopin's Prelude No. 24 in D Minor ("The Storm"), often played by the character of Dorian Gray to reflect his dark, deteriorating psyche. (I don't know it) In this MGM film, Dorian Gray (played by Hurd Hatfield) introduces the haunting Chopin piece to Sibyl Vane (Angela Lansbury).

Speaking in 1974 to Russell Harty

Jorge Bolet in the Syndey Morning Herald and The Age

A couple of clippings from Cincinnati newspapers October 1963

Jorge Bolet on Latin American music, as reported in the Oregon Daily Journal , 17 November 1962

Redwood City Tribune, 31 December 1960

Pianist Jorge Bolet Receives a “Strong” Welcome "A visiting pianist at Joint Senior High School expected polite applause and perhaps a wilted corsage. Instead, he was met by the school’s human brick wall: the school’s impressively built football team, captained by Buck “Brick” Donovan—owner of a jaw you could sharpen pencils on, shoulders that apparently require their own postcode, and a varsity sweater clinging on for dear life. His grin? Bright enough to make the stage lights file a formal complaint. "Fearing for the structural integrity of the guest’s livelihood (read: his fingers), Donovan and company delivered what they proudly dubbed “gentleman strength” handshakes—carefully calibrated somewhere between “cordial greeting” and “hydraulic press.” The pianist was then escorted to the stage with the kind of ceremony usually reserved for trophies and/or royalty. "Notably torn over the night’s true star striker was Donovan’s girlfriend, Daisy Whitmore, who appeared to be playing both flanks—caught squarely between the pianist’s slicked, glass-smooth hair (more polished than a perfectly weighted through-ball) and Donovan’s own sun-bleached crew cut, all grit and preseason form. In Uniontown, it seems even romance can go to extra time—and this one’s still level heading into stoppage. "The recital itself was a clean sweep on the scoreline, though a few squad members admitted they usually like their “chords” delivered with a whistle, a scoreboard, and ninety minutes on the clock. Still, their full-throated ovation shook the stands like a last-minute winner, leaving no doubt: in Uniontown, even the hardest-tackling—and frankly most camera-ready—footballers know how to put on a performance worthy of the highlight reel. Cyril K. Sterling, Uniontown Evening Gazette, 14 March 1961 Jorge Bolet's Baldwin piano in the hall, Joint Senior High School, Uniontown, Pa *Cine film courtesy of Mrs Walter E. Donovan Jr. (provided by her granddaughter)

New and very much "work in progress", a list of as many concerts of Jorge Bolet as I can find, 1926-1989. It's not a definitive list (that would be a tedious task), but hey...! In order to "clean up" the narrative pages of this website, I shall gradually delete a number of the concerts for which I have not included a review or interesting detail; thus, the Concertography pages will be the fullest account of Jorge's activity (though inevitably not complete - that would be a tedious task!) See link below the photo. Link