Thanks for referencing my review, Dave! You can still obtain the wonderful box set "Jorge Bolet, Vol. 2 Ambassador from the Golden Age" from Marston Records; this is the real Bolet, inspired and on fire!
Bingo again. I have that set, it's a goldmine. Among many things, his 1970 Liszt Lucia and Rigoletto paraphrases at the IPAM benefit concert are Bolet at the summit of his game. I heard him him live a couple of times, I remember him holding up a hand and shaking his head "no" when the applause came too early in the Reger Variations.
Brahms op.24 is my favorite version. The Reger is a tour de force - Beautiful tone color from the Bechstein piano. No other pianist matches his Reger. Rach - Chopin Variations is fantastic. Liszt Etudes from 1970 was his best. Most of his late concertos were not great - I wonder if he had hearing issues - He and the orchestra never seem together. Go to his Audite recordings 1960 - Fantastic Beethoven PC no. 5. I enjoy all his Liszt. I must add his 1974 Carnegie Hall Recital was phenomenal.
With Bolet is an interesting fact he chose Bechstein or Baldwin for his concerts or recordings. Especially Bechstein tone is way different than typical recording horse Steinway D sound we all know. One must take under consideration the tone of Bechstein, especially in high register which is so different and very distinctive feature for all his Liszt for example - try before You buy if you like the tone of the piano because it is not another steinway recording but something very special and exceptional - transparent tone with some punchy attack in highs the more forte you play in comparison with more even steinway tone projection. Bolet's Annes de Pelerinage are true treasure of my collection (got them on LPs, well manufactured - direct metal mastering with low back noise and good dynamics).
Interesting stuff. I know Bolet from his recordings with Everest and, if my memory is not utterly failing me, his recording of Herrmann's "Concerto Macabre" from "Hangover Square" on RCA with Gerhart in the early 70's...smoking stuff.
Really, I think I've only ever heard Bolet playing Liszt and nothing else. Did he also record for DG? I remember they were DG recordings. Thanks for the review.
@@DavesClassicalGuide I have to assume even Michelangeli failed to win you over. I feel Schumann wrote way too much piano music, most of it in large sets. There's only a certain number of Schumann's flights of fancy I feel I can take in, and at some point it begins sounding redundant. Maybe that's why I love Carnaval, as it was my first Schumann exposure among the larger works. That, Davidsbundlertanze, Symphonic Etudes and a couple of others, and that'll do me for the piano works. My loss, possibly.
I appreciate Bolet for introducing me to Joseph Marx's works through his "Romantic" Piano Concerto, though I now prefer Hamelin's Hyperion recording. I believe Marx deserves a renaissance, like his compatriot Korngold has recieved in recent decades.
Unfortunately Bolet never recorded the Marx commercially, although broadcast airchecks of his 1982 New York Philharmonic performance with Zubin Mehta circulate among collectors of live piano material.
Thanks for referencing my review, Dave! You can still obtain the wonderful box set "Jorge Bolet, Vol. 2 Ambassador from the Golden Age" from Marston Records; this is the real Bolet, inspired and on fire!
Bingo again. I have that set, it's a goldmine. Among many things, his 1970 Liszt Lucia and Rigoletto paraphrases at the IPAM benefit concert are Bolet at the summit of his game.
I heard him him live a couple of times, I remember him holding up a hand and shaking his head "no" when the applause came too early in the Reger Variations.
@@pianomaly9 And you hear the applause come in too early in his live 1972 Chopin Fourth Ballade from Alice Tully Hall....ouch!
Favourite Bolet trivia - he conducted the Japan premiere of "The Mikado"!
I bought his Liszt CDs as they originally came out and delight in them.
Love Bolet's Franck. He brings to that composer a quasi-orchestral tone which I've never heard from other pianists, however accomplished.
Brahms op.24 is my favorite version. The Reger is a tour de force - Beautiful tone color from the Bechstein piano. No other pianist matches his Reger. Rach - Chopin Variations is fantastic. Liszt Etudes from 1970 was his best. Most of his late concertos were not great - I wonder if he had hearing issues - He and the orchestra never seem together. Go to his Audite recordings 1960 - Fantastic Beethoven PC no. 5. I enjoy all his Liszt. I must add his 1974 Carnegie Hall Recital was phenomenal.
Bolet was definitely a Liszt guy & he was a sharp dressed man👍
With Bolet is an interesting fact he chose Bechstein or Baldwin for his concerts or recordings. Especially Bechstein tone is way different than typical recording horse Steinway D sound we all know. One must take under consideration the tone of Bechstein, especially in high register which is so different and very distinctive feature for all his Liszt for example - try before You buy if you like the tone of the piano because it is not another steinway recording but something very special and exceptional - transparent tone with some punchy attack in highs the more forte you play in comparison with more even steinway tone projection. Bolet's Annes de Pelerinage are true treasure of my collection (got them on LPs, well manufactured - direct metal mastering with low back noise and good dynamics).
Interesting stuff. I know Bolet from his recordings with Everest and, if my memory is not utterly failing me, his recording of Herrmann's "Concerto Macabre" from "Hangover Square" on RCA with Gerhart in the early 70's...smoking stuff.
Really, I think I've only ever heard Bolet playing Liszt and nothing else. Did he also record for DG? I remember they were DG recordings. Thanks for the review.
RCA
One day, Dave, can you explain your reservations about Carnival...we're all intrigued!
Oh, I don't know. It just always seems to promise to be more interesting than it actually sounds...
@@DavesClassicalGuide I have to assume even Michelangeli failed to win you over. I feel Schumann wrote way too much piano music, most of it in large sets. There's only a certain number of Schumann's flights of fancy I feel I can take in, and at some point it begins sounding redundant. Maybe that's why I love Carnaval, as it was my first Schumann exposure among the larger works. That, Davidsbundlertanze, Symphonic Etudes and a couple of others, and that'll do me for the piano works. My loss, possibly.
Don’t recall the label, but I have an LP of a live performance that I really enjoy. It includes a great Schulz-Evler transcription of the Blue Danube.
That's the 1974 Carnegie Hall recital on RCA that you probably have, and it's all prime Bolet.
@ Yep, that’s the one!
Heard him live several times; he was always very good-recordings -not so much.
I appreciate Bolet for introducing me to Joseph Marx's works through his "Romantic" Piano Concerto, though I now prefer Hamelin's Hyperion recording. I believe Marx deserves a renaissance, like his compatriot Korngold has recieved in recent decades.
Unfortunately Bolet never recorded the Marx commercially, although broadcast airchecks of his 1982 New York Philharmonic performance with Zubin Mehta circulate among collectors of live piano material.
@@jdistler2 Right on. It's on YT, presumably with Mehta and NY Phil, although they aren't designated.