After the commercial success of the Encores record (recorded in March and December 1985 in St Barnabas' Church, Finchley, UK and issued in 1987), Decca had in mind to make another one. 'Jorge liked the plan a lot and we talked often about the repertoire,' says Mattheus Smits. Strauss/Godowsky, Fledermaus Weber/Godowsky, Invitation to the dance Moszkowski, Caprice Espagnol Lecuona, Cuban dances selections The fourth movement)of Carl Maria von Weber's Piano Sonata No. 1 in C major, Op. 24 (1812): Rondo: Presto, frequently referred to as a mouvement perpétuel. This was included on Jorge's Graduation Recital, 16 April 1934 Strauss/Schulz Evler, Concert Arabesques on the Beautiful Blue Danube Waltz in A major Op.2 by Mischa Levitzki (first played by Jorge in August 1926) Delibes/Dohnányi Naila waltz Prokofiev, Toccata Op.11 Abram Chasins, Preludes (selection) Godowsky, pieces from Triakontameron and Java Suite Paul de Schloezer etude Op.1 no 1 in E flat. (piano roll with score) (Jeffrey Biegel) 'About the last piece, a difficult etude in double notes in two hands Jorge told me a nice story: Abbey Simon played it often in his student days to show off. To surprise his fellow students, he always finished the piece with some chords of his own in the wrong key. He got so much used to this that it once happened in concert also! NB There is a fantastic recording on piano-roll of this unknown piece by Josef Lhevinne. 'Once before a concert Jorge played this piece for me in an unbelievable way out of the blue, note perfect. I am sure he had not touched it for years. To further amaze me, he continued with Nola (1915) by Felix Arndt asking me whether this would do for the encores volume 2. 'Unfortunately all this never happened.'

Just occasionally I might mention another pianist, and this evening Monday 4 May 2026 at the Wigmore Hall in London I heard Swiss Italian Francesco Piemontesi (b.1983 Locarno). He played Schubert's Sonata in G Major D894 followed by Liszt's Années de pèlerinage, première année, Suisse S160. I think it is one of the best piano recitals I’ve heard in 40 years of attending concerts. He also treated us to two encores, one of which was beloved of Jorge Bolet: Chopin/Godowsky, Étude in A flat major: 3rd version from Étude in A flat major, Op 25 No 1. The other was Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV645, arranged by Wilhelm Kempff. I was delighted to hear the Godowsky, and was genuinely surprised because of its rarity value. It's certainly one of the most beautiful arrangements Godowsky made. Incidentally, two years ago (12 June 2024) I heard in the same venue during a lunchtime recital the whole of Godowsky's Java Suite. You can’t turn down an opportunity to hear that. The pianist in question Julian Chan played as an encore the same composer's arrangement of Saint-Saëns, The Swan, and one was suddenly aware of a composer who really had what Stravinsky might have called “The Fairy's Kiss” of melody! Piemontesi's voicing of the various strands of the music, his tone colours, his sensitivity to modulations, his pianissimos in the Schubert all reminded me of the incomparable Alfred Brendel and I was not surprised afterwards to find that Piemontesi had studied with him. Shamefully, I had bought a CD of FP playing two Mozart Concertos 19 and 27 during COVID-19 lockdown but never got round to listening to it. I will now. What a treat it was to hear this recital, not least because I had only checked what's on in London this week on Bachtrack this very morning when I woke up, and suddenly thought: I like the look of that. And I’m jolly glad I went! I will also be following this young man’s career now…

Due 3 July 2026 Some previously unreleased recordings by Jorge Bolet, made at the Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena, California (USA), in 1981 and 1986, are due to be released soon. Here is a preview on YouTube from First Hand Records, which will release a 3-CD box set; the recordings will also be available on all digital platforms from 3 July 2026. These performances are released with the permission of the estate of Jorge Bolet.

"He knew he had to take the stage, to stride up to that huge instrument and take command. 'Remember,' he'd say, 'it's likely to kick back." Andrei Svetlichny, Boston Globe, September 1982 As ever, I am grateful to Mattheus Smits for providing information to this website. He has alerted my attention to this tribute (edited) to Jorge Bolet's tuner in the USA. A Memorial Died April 12, 1998 • Born February 19, 1957 Andrei Svetlichny, 41 Tuner of Concert Pianos for the Stars By HOLCOMB B. NOBLE Andrei Svetlichny, whose ability to coax gorgeous tones from concert grands made him indispensable as a personal tuner for distinguished pianists, died on April 12 at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan. He was 41 and the chief concert technician and manager of technical services for the Baldwin Piano and Organ Company. The cause was leukemia, his family said. During summers the Russian-born Mr. Svetlichny also oversaw the tuning and maintenance of some 150 pianos at the Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox, Mass. He also worked with the Montreal Symphony, the Boston Symphony and a number of recording artists, including Earl Wild, Abbey Simon, Michael Feinstein and Bruce Hornsby. He was the personal tuner for Jorge Bolet in the 1980s after the pianist's previous tuner failed him grievously. The tuner had forgotten to anchor the piano legs to the stage prior to a concert and when Mr. Bolet sat down to play, the piano began to roll away from him. It rolled right off the stage and fell into the orchestra pit, breaking in half. [Mexico City, November 1978] Mr. Wild found that he had to take Mr. Svetlichny with him when he gave recitals all over the world. ''He somehow knew exactly what you needed,'' Mr. Wild recalled. What was needed, he said, was knowing when to clean the keys and when not; when to keep fiddling with the strings until each one sounded a note of precisely the right pitch when struck by its hammer; when to ''voice'' the instrument, by removing the action and filing the hammers, so that each key produces the same volume of sound in response to the same touch, and, of course, always remembering to anchor the legs. What was needed, too, was the ability to be a friend: ''I always took Andrei to our parties everywhere,'' Mr. Wild said. Baldwin had recently asked Mr. Svetlichny to assist in the first significant redesign of its SD-10 concert grand since 1966, when it was produced under the guidance of Leonard Bernstein and Max Rudolf. After crawling in, around and under the nine-foot piano and making or proposing various adjustments, he persuaded the company to make some fine changes in its basic design. Andrei Svetlichny was born in what was then called Leningrad on Feb. 19, 1957, the only child of Nikolai and Lyudmila Baikova, who were opera singers. He studied at Herzen Pedagogical Institute in Leningrad from 1976 to 1978, then left for England and, in 1980, for the United States. He studied at the New England School of Stringed Instrument Technology, now the North Bennett Street School, and became chief piano technician at Boston University, before joining Baldwin. He is survived by his wife, Margaret Poppino Svetlichny of Bloomfield, N.J.; a daughter, Katherine; two sons, Nicholas and Peter, and by his parents. ''You could tell right off, here was a master,'' said Joe Vitti, one of his early tuning coaches. ''He knew he had to take the stage, to stride up to that huge instrument and take command. 'Remember,' he'd say, 'it's likely to kick back.' ''

This list does not include Cuba. See also 1936-58 1974 In late 1974, Jorge was one of the judges on the Concurso Latinoamericano de Piano Teresa Carreño in Caracas, Venezuela. He made a number of concert appearances in Caracas. 1975 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 1977 15, 16 January 1977 Jorge's date book notes rehearsals ("ensayos") in Caracas, Venezuela 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. There was a tour of Central (and possibly South) America in July 1977. On Saturday 2 July, Bolet 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; Mexico City), 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? November 1977 (?): Teatro Tapia, San Juan, PR 1978 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 Mozart/LIszt Reminiscences , f Don Juan (as part of the Winter Festival) 10/12 July 1978 Casa de Manchete/ Teatro Cultura Artistica, São Paulo, Brazil 2 recitals On Thursday 13 July, Jorge 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. Jorge told Lisa Battle of The Columbus Ledger (6 March) that an impresario wanted to display his photography in concert halls during the Mexican tour. ​​ On Monday 31 July he flew at 10:30am from Mexico City to JFK Alternatively, another date books lists: 6 July 1978 Sala Cecilia Meireles, Largo do Lapa, Rio de Janeiro Funerailles and the 12 Transcendental Etudes 8 July 1978 São Paulo, Barazil 9 July 1978 Flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina 10 July 19678 Lima, Peru or Buenos Aires 11 July 1978 Leave for Mexico 12 July 1978 Tepotzotlán 30 Jul 1978 arrive back in U.S. 12 November 1978 Mexico City, Mexico 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, so no concert. 1979 In June/July 1979, Jorge was in Argentina and Uruguay. He flew on 18 June to Buenos Aires. His date book mentions repertoire (see below but also: Chopin, Barcarolle, Fantasy in F minor Op.49, Sonata No.3, Ballades, Rachmaninoff's third concerto and Weber's Konzertstück) ​10 July 1979 Teatro Solís, Montevideo, Uruguay 30th anniversary of SODRE (Servicio Oficial de Difusión, Representaciones y Espectáculos; Official Service for Broadcasting, Performances and Entertainment) in con junction with the Embassy of the USA Liszt's Sonata and Transcendental Études 7, 6, 12, 9 and 8; Funerailles. (JB's first appearance in the country) 21 July 1979 Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires, Argentina (JB’s only appearance in this fabled venue) Bach/Busoni Ciaccona, Liszt's Sonata and his Transcendental Études 7, 6, 12, 9 and 8. 1980 A newspaper review dated 31 May 1980 discusses a concerto with Armando Krieger and the Orquesta Sinfónica del Sodre (in Montevideo, Uruguay). It featured Uruguayan composer León Biriotti's Symphony No. 3, "in memoriam Lauro Ayestarán" and Jorge playing Rachmaninoff 3. See here for mixed review. 26 May 1980 National Theatre, Panamá City, Panamá Recital 12 June 1980 Teatro Nacional, San José, Costa Rica Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op.58 Conductor Agustín Cullell 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 1981 3 May 1981 (Sunday, 12 noon) Sala Nezahualcóyotl, Mexico City Chopin, Barcarolle, Fantasy in F minor Op.49, Schumann, Carnaval, Liszt Sonetti del Petrarca 104 & 123, Dante Sonata 5 May 1981 Sala Nezahualcóyotl, Mexico City Brahms, Concerto No 2 in B flat Op.83 (also Moncayo, Tierra de temporal and Mendelssohn, Symphony No. 4) Orquesta Filarmónica de la UNAM/ Armando Zayas 15 October 1981 [originally 18th?] Teatro Degollado, Guadalajara (Jalisco), Mexico Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto no. 2 in C minor Op. 18 Conductor: Hugo Jan Huss 20 November 1981 Teatro Nacional Eduardo Brito, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Mendelssohn, Schumann, Schubert & Liszt In El Caribe (12.11.1981), Lamela Geler stated that Jorge visited Santo Domingo in the early 1950s and played in the Teatro Olimpia, under the auspices of Sociedad Pro Arte. Now he gives a second recital in Santo Domingo. 1982 Jorge's itinerary states that 1-15 June 1982 had been reserved for Mexico. His date book notes a flight from New York to Mexico City on 31 May 1982. 4 & 6 June, 1982, [6th Sunday at 12 noon] Sala Nezahualcóyotl., Mexico City Franck, Symphonic Variations Rachmaninoff, Variations on a theme of Paganini Enrique Diemecke and the Orquesta Filarmonica de le UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México) Saturday, 5 June, in the Palacio de la Antigua Escuela de Medecina: Mendelssohn, Fantasie in F sharp minor, Op.28 "Scottish" Schumann, Fantasy in C major Op.17 Schubert/Liszt, 5 Lieder (Auf dem Wasser au singen, Der Müller under der Bach, Der Lindenbaum, Aufenthalt, Erlkönig) Liszt, Mephisto Waltz 9 June 1982 Auditorio, Colegio Santa Ursula, Lima Mendessohn, Fantasy in F minor Op.28 "Scottish" Schumann, Fantasy in C major Op.17 Schubert/Liszt, 5 Lieder (Auf dem Wasser au singen, Der Müller under der Bach, Der Lindenbaum, Aufenthalt, Erlkönig) Liszt, Mephisto Waltz Jorge's only recital that year in Lima, Peru, a recital arranged in association with Baldwin Pianos (Los Zorzalas 140, San Isidro, Lima) "It has been a long time since we have heard in Lima a pianist of Bolet's stature." El Comercio 13.6.1982 c.10/11 June 1982 Santiago, Chile? 12 June 1982 Teatro Solís, Montevideo, Uruguay Liszt, Concerto No. 2 in A major & the Hungarian Fantasia Brazilian conductor Isaac Karabtchewsky & the SODRE Symphony Orchestra, the national orchestra 15 June 1982 São Paulo, Brazil *On 16th he flew from Brazil to New York. 13 November 1982 Sala René Marqués of the Centro de Bellas Artes, San Juan (Puerto Rico) Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto no. 2 in C minor Op. 18 Orquesta Sinfónica de Puerto Rico/ John Barnett ​ Cristobal Diaz writing in El Mundo 7.11.82 recalls an unforgettable night at the Teatro Tapia in November 1977, which seems to be when he last heard Bolet in San Juan, or it may be the last time JB performed in the city. 1983 14 /16 June 1983 Teatro Municipal, Santiago de Chile, Chile Rachmaninoff, Concerto No. 3 in D minor Op.30 Juan Pablo Izquierdo and the Orquesta Filarmónica de Santiago ​ There's some confusion as the season schedule lists Tuesday and Thursday 14/16 June 1983 as conducted by Franz Paul Decker; the Rachmaninoff is there but it's framed by Hindemith's Mathis der Maler symphony and Richard Strauss's Rosenkavalier Waltzes. Indisposition? 23 July 1983 (Saturday) Arequipa, Peru Schumann, Fantasiestücke Brahms, Handel variations Liszt, Petrarch Sonnets & Hungarian Rhapsody No.12 *Birthplace of Peruvian author and Nobel Prize winner Mario Vargas Llosa (1936-2025) 25 July 1983 Auditorio Santa Úrsula, Lima, Peru C. Franck, Symphonic Variations Rachmaninoff, Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op.18 Orquesta Sinfónica de la Escuela de Música/ Peruvian conductor Armando Sánchez Málaga 29 July 1983 Cine-Teatro Embaixador, Gramado (Rio Grande do Sul), Brazil Schumann, Fantasiestücke Brahms, Handel variations Liszt, Petrarch Sonnets & Hungarian Rhapsody No.12 30 July 1983 Gramado (Rio Grande do Sul), Brazil Schubert's Trout Quintet [?] with cellist Peter Dauelsberg and violinist Viktoria Mullova 31 July 1983 Gramado (Rio Grande do Sul), Brazil Brahms 2 Orquestra Sinfônica de Porto Alegre, presumably under Eleazar de Carvalho 3 August 1983 Lima, Peru Schumann, Fantasiestücke Brahms, Handel variations Liszt, Petrarch Sonnets & Hungarian Rhapsody No.12 1984 Claudio Arrau returns to Chile, May 1984 Arrau made a 15-day tour of his homeland Chile, arriving on Thursday 10 May, after a 17-year absence. On Friday 11 May, there were rehearsals with conductor Juan Pablo Izquierdo and the Orquesta Filarmónica de Santiago at the Teatro Municipal, whilst anti-government street protesters clashed with police forces resulting in one 18-year-old dead and 170 arrests. In June 1984 there was a tour (?) of South America; Jorge Bolet flew from San Francisco to Miami on 1 June and then on LAN Chile LA141 to Santiago. 5 June 1984 Teatro Municipal, Santiago, Chile Liszt 1 & 2 [?] Orquesta Filarmónica de Santiago/ Simón Blech (1924-1997, Polish-Argentinian) 11 June 1984 Teatro Cultura Artística, São Paulo (rua Nestor Pestana 196), Brazil Rachmaninoff, Concerto No. 2 in C minor Op.18 Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado/ Eleazar de Carvalho 13 June 1984 Porto Alegre, Brazil 19 June 1984 Lima, Peru

Hercules Late November 1966 Herkulessaal, Munich Chopin, Ballades; Liszt Sonata, Mephisto Waltz (& encores) Although already 53 years old, Jorge Bolet has only been heard here once before, stepping in for a colleague in an orchestral concert. Now he appeared in the Herkulessaal in his own piano recital, tall, powerful, with a graying mustache. First impression: A gentleman, a caballero. Second: Also a nobleman of pianism. He plays the four Chopin Ballades. Every note that now emerges from the Bechstein, every touch, every pedal stroke, all degrees of an infinitely variable dynamic scale, every slightest tempo change, the crystal-clear, meticulously human and deeply felt technique that rivals the infallibility of a pianola – all this is the result of an extraordinary high culture of pianism. When one thinks of Bolet's Chopin, one doesn't picture the shivering, coughing composer, threatened by hemorrhages. Jorge Bolet's portrayal of the Ballades is a single, grand, masculine, serious, and mature act of passion. His playing pulsates with emotion and often arouses (and excites) to the point of rapture, yet it is always a genuine, measured, and masterfully controlled Chopin rendition, possessing the most sensitive understanding and delicacy even for the sometimes effeminate melodies of the great Polish composer. Bolet understands how to let the basses growl softly like dangerous beasts after the sumptuous lyricism. Then, at the respective shifts from the legendary tone to the harshly ballad-like, he pounces like a puma with lightning-fast swipes at the presto agitato, resulting in the most gripping outbursts of unyielding force and grandly pathetic intensity. This consistently convincing Chopin playing, despite its highly personal character, is virtually unparalleled. The second part was dedicated to Franz Liszt. I thought the great rhapsodist Liszt would have a hard time competing with the elegant Chopin. But I was wrong. With Liszt's rarely heard only sonata, which surpasses all of this titan's other piano works, Bolet conveyed a sense of the immense heights of Liszt's piano artistry. When he literally conjured the thunderous bundles of octaves from his sleeve and, with the incomprehensible skill of a magician, made all the bewildering and enchanting piano subtleties first conceived by Liszt sound, one might have thought that a god Shiva with a multitude of arms and hands must be at work. But it was always only this one, perfectly courteous and modestly smiling, unassuming gentleman in a tailcoat, who accomplished all this and more. For now, following Liszt's monstrous work, came the ultimate in pianistic bravura: the "Mephisto Waltz." This satanic keyboard dance unleashed such a storm of applause that Bolet had to play a whole third part of Liszt's eccentricities. He played songs! Songs whose purely pianistic rendering Liszt had once helped the song masters achieve great popularity: Schubert's "Wohin?" and "Ständchen," Schumann's "Widmung," and Chopin's "Mädchens Wunsch." This dolcissimo of song lyricism, adapted to the cantabile possibilities of the pianoforte, performed by Bolet with a wonderfully singing touch, has put many a disastrous song performance far in the shade. Anyone who still speaks of the misappropriation of song literature hasn't heard Bolet. And believe it or not: he also added the enormous Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12 with friendly serenity/ composure. Edmund Nick, Süddeutsches Zeitung, 1 December 1966

Another contender for Jorge Bolet's best review... 16-18 November 1980 (Sat/Sun) Orpheum, 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." Doug Hughes of The Province: 'Once in a very great while, an experience in the theatre or concert hall can be so transporting that it sends you out into the streets, confused and dizzy, and it takes some time to readjust to reality. There is every reason to suspect that the most, if not all of those who left the Orpheum on Sunday afternoon after Jorge Bolet's performance, felt that way. In my years of concert going, I have heard Brahms 2 played by some highly distinguished artists, among them Dame, Myra, Hess, Solomon, Sir Clifford Curzon, Wilhelm Backhaus, and Rudolf Serkin. I have heard more recordings of it than I can possibly remember. But with Bolet's incredible performance of this towering work on Sunday afternoon, I believe I have now heard it in all its glory, perhaps as close as it is possible to come to the way the composer intended it to be played. There were many things about this performance that were less than technically ideal. Nevertheless, it added up to one of those all to rare instances in which musicianship (bolet, orchestra, conductor) took the lead over mere technique.' ​ (*Bolet had played in Vancouver 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.)

John Crouch, a former Indiana student of JB for 3 years, was interviewed in 1979 (what follows is a mixture of his own words and those of the journalist): 'Bolet is a natural pianist, like a natural athlete. At the peak of what could be called his first career, his manager was scheduling him for 100-120 performances a year, which is one almost every three days. Then, in his mid-50s, Bolet decided to start winding down his performing career and in 1968, accepted a teaching position at Bloomington. Next came a revival in Romantic music. Well, he was soon back on the road with a hectic schedule - careers don't necessarily go like this. He would bop back into town after a string of concerts and give us marathon lessons... he was in and out all the time but he expected us to know our stuff because he knew his. [In referring to Liszt's Totentanz with Boulez (1971) - Andre Watts was ill, and Jorge agreed to substitute at the last minute but he did not know the music] 24 hours later, he had the thing memorised. He played it for his students. It was something it would've taken us six months to learn. It just shows how well the man works under pressure. He has an instant recall of the music he plays, he seems to be able to bring a piece back into his fingers once he's learned it.' The Morning Press, Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania (22 September 1979)

Página web: Clicc Bolet ofreció dos conciertos en la gran ciudad turca —antaño Bizancio, más tarde la legendaria Constantinopla y, desde 1930, oficialmente Estambul—. Los recitales tuvieron lugar los días 21 y 23 de junio, a las 21:30, en el Büyük Salonu (Salón Grande) del Centro Cultural Atatürk. El programa incluyó obras de Mendelssohn; la Sonata n.º 23 en fa menor, Op. 57 de Beethoven, conocida como Appassionata; el Prélude, Choral et Fugue de Franck —citado en turco como Prelüd, Koral ve Füg—; y Réminiscences de Norma de Bellini/Liszt. Aunque Bolet no interpretó a Liszt en la película Song Without End (1960), poseía una presencia escénica que habría resultado plenamente convincente en cualquier filme histórico; uno podía imaginarlo, por ejemplo, en el papel de un virrey de la India durante el Imperio británico. Tras concluir su gira europea, supimos que planeaba realizar un safari fotográfico de quince días por Kenia y Tanzania. El diario Cumhuriyet, el más antiguo de Turquía, publicó un obituario el 31 de octubre de 1990 en el que recordaba con melancolía: «Resultó que, sin saberlo, fuimos testigos de dos de los últimos conciertos de Jorge Bolet, descubierto en Turquía en el otoño de su vida, cuando ofreció dos recitales de piano durante el Festival Internacional de Estambul, en junio de 1988.»

Review of 10 May 1979 recital in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London

¡No lo olvides! Hay una versión más corta de esta página web disponible en español. ¡Haga clic en el enlace! (El orador en el video no es real pero AI) Clases magistrales para BBC Scotland El 27 de febrero de 1983, Jorge interpretó el Concierto para piano n.° 3 de Rachmaninoff en el Usher Hall de Edimburgo, con la BBC Scottish SO y Bryden "Jack" Thomson, un brillante director escocés con una frase ingeniosa. Esto sería transmitido por la televisión de la BBC en el verano de 1983, como culminación de tres programas de clases magistrales sobre el concierto (que presumiblemente fueron grabados aproximadamente al mismo tiempo). En el programa introductorio, JB fue entrevistado por Robin Ray (1934-1998), locutor, actor y músico inglés, famoso entre otras cosas por su conocimiento enciclopédico de los números de Köchel de las obras de Mozart, que expuso en una popular tarde de domingo. panel musical show Face The Music. El tema musical del programa fue la Canción Popular de la suite Façade de Sir William Walton (quien fue invitado al programa en el año de su 70 cumpleaños). El propio Jorge también fue invitado al programa que se emitió el domingo 2 de diciembre de 1984 por la tarde. El papel de la BBC para acercar a Jorge Bolet a un público internacional más amplio fue considerable.

¡No lo olvides! Hay una versión más corta de esta página web disponible en español (aunque todavía está en desarrollo). Por favor, ten en cuenta que no soy hablante nativo de español, así que habrá muchos errores en la traducción. No dudes en enviar correcciones. ¡Haz clic en el enlace! (El orador en el video no es real pero AI)