Jorge Bolet
td
beauty of his sound, the completeness of his technique, the mastery he
brought to everything he played.
BUT
And there's the rub. There are always caveats that follow such
statements.
I was reminded of this in listening again to his last recorded
recital, a Decca CD produced by Frank Bell in Atlanta in 1988, just a
few years before Bolet's death from AIDS.
He plays a Mendelssohn Prelude and Fugue, Franck's Prelude Choral and
Fugue, and the Bellini-Liszt Norma Paraphrase.
The Mendelssohn flows beautifully, just like a good Mendelssohn stream
of notes should flow. Ripples of notes, enchanting melodies, etc.
The problems come in the Franck, where instead of an almost cathartic
high point (try Moravec, particularly in recital) you get the
emotional mountain tops lopped off. Everything proceeds smoothly, as
always, but nothing, simply nothing, serves to move this listener, at
least. Just ravishingly beautiful note-spinning.
The Norma Paraphrase continues in this vein. No singer could ever sing
the famous melodies at the tempo Bolet tries to do. Bellini is, in
this manner, totally neutered, with his soaring melodies starved of
the oxygen required to make them really sing at the piano.
There are a few clinkers as well - unusual for Bolet - including a
rather squished penultimate chord I'll bet he wished he could have
corrected. However, if you saw Bolet in recital in his final years,
with his tails hanging loosely off his enormous but wasted frame, you
can forgive him such tiny lapses.
What is harder to forgive him is the absence of emotional drive.
And there we are forced to fall back on the "beautiful sound" defence.
Yes, Bolet was capable of moving an audience and not simply "placing"
notes and chords in a sequence involving truly balletic hand
movements. But those occasions, it seems to me, were rare.
As one looks at his teachers, Hofmann, Godowsky, Saperton, et al, you
have to wonder whether beautiful sound and smooth effortless note-
spinning was what they thought music was all about. And you wonder
what would have happened if the young Jorge Bolet had studied with
Artur Schnabel, or his predecessor at Curtis, Rudolf Serkin, or Edwin
Fischer instead.
Still a great pianist.
BUT...
Incidentally, because this recital was quicly withdrawn and probably
printed in 1000 copies, it seems that it is rare. Fetches the usual
astronomical prices on eBay and other similar sites.
Well, Bolet does make lovely sounds, of course.
TD
O
<3afe3a5f-b105-4d33...@w24g2000vbw.googlegroups.com>, td
<tomde...@mac.com> wrote:
> Jorge Bolet was undoubtedly a great pianist. Many have remarked on the
> beauty of his sound, the completeness of his technique, the mastery he
> brought to everything he played.
>
> BUT
>
>
>
> As one looks at his teachers, Hofmann, Godowsky, Saperton, et al, you
> have to wonder whether beautiful sound and smooth effortless note-
> spinning was what they thought music was all about. And you wonder
> what would have happened if the young Jorge Bolet had studied with
> Artur Schnabel, or his predecessor at Curtis, Rudolf Serkin, or Edwin
> Fischer instead.
>
> Still a great pianist.
>
> BUT...
>
> Incidentally, because this recital was quicly withdrawn and probably
> printed in 1000 copies, it seems that it is rare. Fetches the usual
> astronomical prices on eBay and other similar sites.
>
> Well, Bolet does make lovely sounds, of course.
The first time I heard Bolet was back in the 70's or 80's when he
played an all-Liszt program in Rhode Island with the RI Philharmonic.
The Hungarian Rhapsody and the Concerto #1. He played the Rhapsody
first (which ordering was a mistake, IMO) and it was absolutely
electric. I had never heard such amazing thrilling playing before.
Then came the intermission and the concerto. The concerto came out
totally flat, dull, listless, no energy. And Liszt was certainly one
of his strengths. So Bolet had those changes of temperament even
before his illness.
-Owen
boombox
td wrote:
> Incidentally, because this recital was quicly withdrawn and probably
> printed in 1000 copies, it seems that it is rare. Fetches the usual
> astronomical prices on eBay and other similar sites.
>
> Well, Bolet does make lovely sounds, of course.
>
Speaking of high-priced Bolet rarities, the elusive Bolet/Johnson
Prokofiev PC2 has suddenly reappeared, not as a CD, but a readily
available download on Amazon and elsewhere. Suffice it to say that
the 50s vintage Remington production has lost little of its murky
menace.
Matthew B. Tepper
be typed in news:030420102137266637%ow...@denofinequityx.com:
> The first time I heard Bolet was back in the 70's or 80's when he
> played an all-Liszt program in Rhode Island with the RI Philharmonic.
> The Hungarian Rhapsody and the Concerto #1. He played the Rhapsody
> first (which ordering was a mistake, IMO) and it was absolutely
> electric. I had never heard such amazing thrilling playing before.
>
> Then came the intermission and the concerto. The concerto came out
> totally flat, dull, listless, no energy. And Liszt was certainly one
> of his strengths. So Bolet had those changes of temperament even
> before his illness.
>
> -Owen
I only heard Bolet live once, but it was an all-Chopin recital in Minneapolis
toward the end of 1985. The Sonata #3 was very, very, very good.
--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
Read about "Proty" here: http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/proty.html
To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion
Opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of my employers
gereco
> In article
> <3afe3a5f-b105-4d33-bc50-8885245c0...@w24g2000vbw.googlegroups.com>, td
>
> - Show quoted text -
I heard him my one and only time in 1982 at the-then Maryland
International Piano Festival and Competition (now I think it is the
Wm. Kapell IPF&C). He was one of five featured pianists at the week-
long event, including Earl Wild, Nelson Friere (THE best of the
week!), a previous winner of the competition and a recital by a 12-
year-old at the time: Dmitry Sgouros.
The pre-teen knocked me and the rest of the over-flowing audience out
of our seats. A varied program of Scarlatti, Beethoven,
Chopin......and closing with the Mephisto Waltz, one of the most
exciting performances of this work I have heard even until this day
(and that includes David Bar-illan, VH, many more, including that
elusive never-was - Joyce Hatto (via Janine Fialskowa - sp.).
Bolet played his recital the next night, and, rather
unfortunately.also programmed the Mephisto
the only piece I can now remember that he played.
It was not the Best Bolet I had heard.
Gc.
wagnerfan
The original 1954 Remington LP was recorded in the Cincinnati Music
Hall and interestingly reissued in 1974 on a Turnabout LP in
electronic stereo which allegdly has sound inferior to
the original (!). I wonder which version the current downloads
represent. Wagner fan
Rugby
>
> Well, Bolet does make lovely sounds, of course.
>
> TD
His 1987 Atlanta live recital still available from Frank Bell :
http://www.thevirtuosopianist.org/dvd/index.htm
Rugby
herman
>
> I was reminded of this in listening again to his last recorded
> recital, a Decca CD produced by Frank Bell in Atlanta in 1988, just a
> few years before Bolet's death from AIDS.
>
Obviously Bolet should not be judged on the basis of this last
recording which was quickly withdrawn. Nice for you to own a copy of
this item, but not very nice of you to use it in this fashion.
Kip Williams
> Speaking of high-priced Bolet rarities, the elusive Bolet/Johnson
> Prokofiev PC2 has suddenly reappeared, not as a CD, but a readily
> available download on Amazon and elsewhere. Suffice it to say that
> the 50s vintage Remington production has lost little of its murky
> menace.
I might go look at it on Amazon and see if I can get just that concerto
without having to take the Fifth (a performance I have on LP if I need
to hear it) and the fourth (a performance I have on CD already) along
with it. "Album-only" downloads are a royal pain.
...
(Later: Nope. The first and last movements are 'album only.')
Kip W
Heather L.
> Jorge Bolet was undoubtedly a great pianist. Many have remarked on the
> beauty of his sound, the completeness of his technique, the mastery he
> brought to everything he played.
>
> BUT
>
> And there's the rub. There are always caveats that follow such
> statements.
>
> I was reminded of this in listening again to his last recorded
> recital, a Decca CD produced by Frank Bell in Atlanta in 1988, just a
> few years before Bolet's death from AIDS.
Only a seriously nasty bastard with an evil agenda would think of
mentioning, in this context, 'Bolet's death from AIDS' (which isn't
officially established anyhow).
Whoever you are, 'td', you are *a fucking shit* -- and we have your words to
prove it..
HL.
boombox
Or you could take out a trial membership on emusic.com and get the
whole thing with your first free month’s allowance.
td
Wonderful. A great recording which isn't a great recording!
TD
boombox
It’s the Turnabout, with Tacchino in the 4th Concerto and Brendel in
the 5th.
td
Well, as has been pointed out, it IS available, Herman, on a DVD
produced by Frank Bell. Google him and you'll find it.
The CD is also available if you are prepared to "pay the price", as
they say. I have no idea why Decca withdrew it. My guess is that it
simply didn't sell.
What, by the way, Herman, has "niceness" got to do with Bolet's
standing as a pianist?
TD
td
> td wrote:
> > Jorge Bolet was undoubtedly a great pianist. Many have remarked on the
> > beauty of his sound, the completeness of his technique, the mastery he
> > brought to everything he played.
>
> > BUT
>
> > And there's the rub. There are always caveats that follow such
> > statements.
>
> > I was reminded of this in listening again to his last recorded
> > recital, a Decca CD produced by Frank Bell in Atlanta in 1988, just a
> > few years before Bolet's death from AIDS.
>
> Only a seriously nasty bastard with an evil agenda would think of
> mentioning, in this context, 'Bolet's death from AIDS' (which isn't
> officially established anyhow).
Actually, it is, according to Wikipedia. The source, for public
consumption, is one Gregor Benko.
TD
td
It seems that www.emusic.com is an attempt to provide downloads for
"independent" labels such as Vox, etc. Works by subscription. You
"own" the download, no DRM, etc. Apparently - Wiki - there are
precious few recordings, if any, from the major recording companies.
TD
herman
>
> What, by the way, Herman, has "niceness" got to do with Bolet's
> standing as a pianist?
>
> TD
Isn't it a good idea to judge an artist on his best works,
particularly when there are plenty of those, rather than on his worst
- particularly when these occur either at the very start or end of
his (or her) career?
That's not only fair and nice. If we judge every artist on his worst
efforts there won't be any good artists left.
wagnerfan
Heather - I don't understand your outrage. I know little about Bolet
and when I read that he died of AIDS I felt profound sorrow. You're
acting like its something to be ashamed of. Thats the kind of attitude
that stalled AIDS research thirty years ago. Now it should be accepted
and treated like any other illness without prejudice or attitude. I'm
surprised I have to post this in 2010. Wagner fan
Kip Williams
The 4th isn't from the Turnabout LP. It's from a complete set of all P's
concertos.
Kip W
operafan
there is an excellent recording of Bolet in concert (all-Chopin) that
Ward Marston released, and many of the audios are easily found on
youtube. Much more interesting and exciting pianist. And there is the
Bolet Rediscovered (all-Liszt) disc on BMG that is on the same level.
Arrau was another pianist whose late recordings don't do him justice.
Unfortunately, Bolet never got a major recording contract until it was
too late to capture him at his best.
td
Had this been the only recording by Bolet which was, well, rather blah
musically speaking, I would agree with you, Herman. Alas, it is not. I
heard him many times over the length of his career. The high spots
were, indeed, high, but they were outnumbered by the lower ones.
If one compares him to his colleagues Earl Wild and Shura Cherkassky,
I think the comparison surely works to his detriment. Neither of those
two artists could ever "go through the motions" in front of a live
audience. They were real performers. I have the impression that more
often than not Bolet was an executant.
TD
td
Correct.
TD
Kip Williams
Not an option. I've been a member for some time. I'd have to use up more
than half my remaining downloads and take the whole album, since it
won't let me take the four tracks I want. I don't want to use those
eight downloads for stuff I already have.
Kip W
td
Perhaps someone (Naxos?) will couple the Chopin Scherzi and the
Prokofiev 2 from Bolet's two Remington LPs?
TD
mandryka
the maths.
The Chopin which Ward Marston sells -- that's 2 Cds.
Maybe the "Rediscovered" Liszt.
And the Schubert/Liszt.(It's nice if you don't know it. Totally
different from Sofronitsky, but special in its way I think -- more
lively, more lyrical, less exotic)
The Carnegie Hall Chopin
That's 5
Possibly the Brahms variations -- but really, he's not a patch on
Moiseiwitsch .
And possibly the album called "Encores"
That makes 7 max.
That's not bad -- I couldn't think of seven hours of eually good
Cherkassky CDs. But maybe someone else could.
BTW arkivmusik lists 58 Bolet CDs.
Rugby
> Maybe the "Rediscovered" Liszt.
Not "maybe", but an emphatic "yes."
> And the Schubert/Liszt.(It's nice if you don't know it. Totally
> different from Sofronitsky, but special in its way I think -- more
> lively, more lyrical, less exotic)
Another "yes" from me.
I am one who also enjoys the Liszt TE's he recorded for Ensayo in the
early 70's, and the 1987 Atlanta live recital.
Regards, Rugby
td
LOL
Cherkassky almost was physically incapable of playing a dull concert.
Simply wasn't in him.
TD
td
> On Apr 4, 10:29 am, mandryka <howie.st...@googlemail.com> wrote:
>
> > Maybe the "Rediscovered" Liszt.
>
> Not "maybe", but an emphatic "yes."
>
> > And the Schubert/Liszt.(It's nice if you don't know it. Totally
> > different from Sofronitsky, but special in its way I think -- more
> > lively, more lyrical, less exotic)
>
> Another "yes" from me.
Only a possible, in my opinion. Simone Pedroni, in the few he has
recorded, is streets ahead of Bolet in drama. But Bolet gets the
mellifluous ones right: more beautiful sounds, of course.
> I am one who also enjoys the Liszt TE's he recorded for Ensayo in the
> early 70's, and the 1987 Atlanta live recital.
It's 1988, actually.
The Liszt TE's of Bolet - any of the three versions, RCA, Ensayo, or
Decca - don't really come close to the leaders of the pack in this
music: Cziffra, Berezovsky, Berman (monaural version), et al.
TD
Rugby
> > I am one who also enjoys the Liszt TE's he recorded for Ensayo in the
> > early 70's, and the 1987 Atlanta live recital.
>
> It's 1988, actually.
Bell's site says April,1987, and is a different programme than the
1988 you mentioned.Probably were 2 recitals ?
Rugby
td
Funny. Didn't someone say you could obtain the Mendelssoh/Franck/
Bellini-Liszt programme on Bell's site? I didn't check; just took it
as true.
TD
David Oberman
<wagn...@comcast.net> wrote:
>Heather - I don't understand your outrage. I know little about Bolet
>and when I read that he died of AIDS I felt profound sorrow.
I'll always have a fondness for Bolet, one of whose students, Blanche
Nissim, was my teacher. She always had interesting stories to tell me
of her days studying with him & Ralph Berkowitz in Philadelphia. She
likened the relationship between Bolet & Berkowitz to that of Trilling
& Barzun at Columbia: alternating between an exuberant bonhomie & an
ever-so-slightly perturbed amicability.
td
> On Sun, 4 Apr 2010 06:09:06 -0700 (PDT), wagnerfan
>
Apparently he will turn 100 one day before I turn 69!
TD
Steve de Mena
It's on an ArkivCD for $14 or so too.
Steve
td
So, Herman need not complain, then.
TD
francis
taken from a Birmingham, AL recital in 1988, video recorded by Frank
Bell and, presumably, sold by him to Decca. The DVDs that Mr. Bell is
offering on his website were taken from Atlanta's Georgia-Pacific
Auditorium in '87 and in my opinion, are much to be recommended. The
Georgia-Pacific DVDs do not record a recital, so much as a studio
television program before an invited audience. In several instances,
Jorge replayed pieces with which he was not satisfied and the results
are top-shelf. There are several instances, the Dante Sonata comes
immediately to mind above all, in which Bell's DVD is infinitely
preferable to Jorge's issued Decca recording. Unfortunately, Jorge did
not play the Norma fantasy in the Atlanta program for the simple
reason that he hadn't learned it yet. Again, my opinion, he never
did--that is, never brought his Norma to the standard of the kind of
top-shelf, committed, take-no-prisoners Liszt performance of which
Bolet was capable--and until around 1984, when his illness began to
manifest, he achieved more often than not.
Tom's impression of the Birmingham performances are on-the-mark, but
there are better Bolet performances of Norma than this one and, of
course, far better commercially available performances of the
Mendelssohn Intro & Ron and Franck PC&F. I heard three of his Normas
in person and about half a dozen more from broadcasts and the pirates.
The most persuasive I was in his Carnegie Hall recital in the spring
of 1988. A French television video circulated a few years back, but
that was not much different from the Birmingham recital performance
and far inferior to the one I heard in Carnegie Hall. The best Bolet
Norma I've heard is from a live Dutch recital broadcast, but even this
would not be worthwhile to seek out except, perhaps, for a Bolet
aficionado like me.
One observation about the Decca issue of the audio of Frank Bell's
Birmingham recital--Decca, though being right in looking to live
recitals to present Bolet at his best (which worked so well for
Cherkassky and which Jorge himself would have far preferred), they
failed to use the two performances from that Birmingham recital, top
shelf Bolet which would also have enlarged Bolet's body of
commercially available repertory: Mendelssohn's Prelude and Fugue in
E and a grippingly dramatic reading of Beethoven's Appassionata--the
best performance of the recital as it was in the Carnegie recital I
attended. (If Beethoven is what you remember from a Bolet recital of
Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Franck, Liszt, Chopin and Chasins, you didn't
hear him on a great night.) I do wish Mr. Bell would offer the entire
Birmingham recital on DVD.
As has already been observed re the confusion regarding dates and
locations, this cd is not Jorge's last recording, by a long shot.
That would be the Decca issue of sixteen Debussy Preludes, recorded at
the symphony hall in San Francisco--and which is much to be
recommended.
I think Mr. Tepper is in error in remembering Jorge's '85 Minnesota
recital being an all-Chopin program. That recital was broadcast by
the local NPR station and included Schumann's Carnival, the Liszt b
minor ballade and something else, either the Liszt Benediction de Dieu
or Grieg Ballade. I agree with Mr. Tepper about the Chopin Third--
and anyone can verify our impression with the purchase of the Marston
Records Bolet Chopin issue of a few years back. If I recall, Tom
recorded here his dissatisfaction with that edition and that
particular performance--but I would encourage anyone to obtain this
set and Tom to give the Sonata a fresh hearing. A couple of months
ago, Marston's email newsletter mentioned this among issues which are
nearly out-of-stock--and he generally doesn't repress his issues.
Lastly, regarding the reissues of Bolet's recording with Thor Johnson
and the Cincinnati Symphony, notable for being the first-ever
recording of the piece--and following an apparently sensational
concert performance that was reported nationally. I'm with those who
take a pass--it's a gripping performance very ungratefully recorded
and well short of Bolet collaborations in the Second with Krips,
Stokowski, Baudo and Sawallisch that are floating around the
collectors' communities. Speaking of Stokey, Jorge recorded the Second
(together with the Third) with Stokey's longtime associate, Ainslee
Cox and the Nuremburg Symphony--those appeared on lp on the Genesis
label and five copies of the cd issue show as available on amazon. So
is the other Bolet/Cox collaboration for Genesis--the Sgambati
Concerto--a piece perfectly suited to Bolet's strengths.
FC
Heather L.
Bullshit. Anyone who will write 'died of AIDS' in a situation where he
wouldn't even think of writing 'died of septacaemia' or 'died of a heart
attack' has an agenda. If the nasty little shit 'td' thought of it as 'like
any other disease', *he wouldn't have flagged it up*.
HL.
Rugby
> I am one who also enjoys the Liszt TE's he recorded for Ensayo in the
> early 70's, and the 1987 Atlanta live recital.
From the 1987 Atlanta recital I mentioned earlier in this thread,a
recital I really enjoyed :
Chopin, 3rd Ballade,complete:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJL8iC4iz5M
Liszt,Ballade in B minor, finale :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6F44inpd6Q&feature=related
Liszt, "Benediction de Dieu dans la solitude" , finale :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im_p5OM_0EA
Franck, PC&F, last 4 minutes :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HbGOvuX-8Q&feature=related
Rugby
td
The Decca CD does NOT contain the Intro and RC, but the very Prelude
and Fugue you wished were there.
TD
td
How very lady-like!
Seems we have more than a few "nasty little shits" around here.
TD
francis
>
> - Show quoted text -
I'm eight or so years behind you, Tom, but farther along in memory
loss. Thanks for the correction.
Bob Lombard
Yeah. AIDS isn't 'like any other disease', for sure; technically it
isn't a disease it's a syndrome. People don't 'die of aids', they die
of disease that AIDS has made the body vulnerable to. Its primary
means of transmission is via sex (sex is shameful?) but the African
experience has shown that children can be and are born with it.
Dying of AIDS is is certainly a bad thing. It is not a SHAMEFUL thing
in the minds of most people. Heather, HIV can be transmitted by a
kiss. When your maiden aunt offers a buss, be sure to turn your head.
bl
bassppn
> Jorge Bolet was undoubtedly a great pianist. Many have remarked on the
> beauty of his sound, the completeness of his technique, the mastery he
> brought to everything he played.
>
> BUT
>
> And there's the rub. There are always caveats that follow such
> statements.
>
> I was reminded of this in listening again to his last recorded
> recital, a Decca CD produced by Frank Bell in Atlanta in 1988, just a
> few years before Bolet's death from AIDS.
>
> Fugue, and the Bellini-Liszt Norma Paraphrase.
>
> The Mendelssohn flows beautifully, just like a good Mendelssohn stream
> of notes should flow. Ripples of notes, enchanting melodies, etc.
>
> The problems come in the Franck, where instead of an almost cathartic
> high point (try Moravec, particularly in recital) you get the
> emotional mountain tops lopped off. Everything proceeds smoothly, as
> always, but nothing, simply nothing, serves to move this listener, at
> least. Just ravishingly beautiful note-spinning.
>
> The Norma Paraphrase continues in this vein. No singer could ever sing
> the famous melodies at the tempo Bolet tries to do. Bellini is, in
> this manner, totally neutered, with his soaring melodies starved of
> the oxygen required to make them really sing at the piano.
>
> There are a few clinkers as well - unusual for Bolet - including a
> rather squished penultimate chord I'll bet he wished he could have
> corrected. However, if you saw Bolet in recital in his final years,
> with his tails hanging loosely off his enormous but wasted frame, you
> can forgive him such tiny lapses.
>
> What is harder to forgive him is the absence of emotional drive.
>
> And there we are forced to fall back on the "beautiful sound" defence.
>
> Yes, Bolet was capable of moving an audience and not simply "placing"
> notes and chords in a sequence involving truly balletic hand
> movements. But those occasions, it seems to me, were rare.
>
> As one looks at his teachers, Hofmann, Godowsky, Saperton, et al, you
> have to wonder whether beautiful sound and smooth effortless note-
> spinning was what they thought music was all about. And you wonder
> what would have happened if the young Jorge Bolet had studied with
> Artur Schnabel, or his predecessor at Curtis, Rudolf Serkin, or Edwin
> Fischer instead.
>
> Still a great pianist.
>
> BUT...
>
> Incidentally, because this recital was quicly withdrawn and probably
> printed in 1000 copies, it seems that it is rare. Fetches the usual
> astronomical prices on eBay and other similar sites.
>
> Well, Bolet does make lovely sounds, of course.
>
> TD
I heard him in the late 50s or early 60s......... played a Bldwin, no
lovely sounds. I felt he was underpowered, very little emotion.
Rather disapointing to say the least.
AB
Bob Lombard
> I heard him in the late 50s or early 60s......... played a Bldwin, no
> lovely sounds. I felt he was underpowered, very little emotion.
> Rather disapointing to say the least.
>
> AB
:) You have endeared yourself to SE.
bl
--
Music, books, a few movies
LombardMusic
http://www.amazon.com/shops/A3NRY9P3TNNXNA
td
> bassppn wrote:
>
> > I heard him in the late 50s or early 60s......... played a Bldwin, no
>
> > lovely sounds. I felt he was underpowered, very little emotion.
> > Rather disapointing to say the least.
>
> > AB
>
> :) You have endeared yourself to SE.
Who has, by the way, not contributed a single post to this thread. I
guess you know more of his views than I do. But as always, he can
speak for himself.
TD
John Wiser
> bassppn wrote:
> > I heard him in the late 50s or early 60s......... played a Bldwin, no
>> lovely sounds. I felt he was underpowered, very little emotion.
>> Rather disapointing to say the least.
>
--
John Wiser
Jicotea Used Books
Howells NY 10932 0136 USA
cee...@gmail.com
http://www.amazon.com/shops/ceeclef
John Wiser
>> :) You have endeared yourself to SE.
> Who has, by the way, not contributed a single post to this thread. I
> guess you know more of his views than I do. But as always, he
> can speak for himself.
Do you feel it is Emerson's duty
to contribute, Tom? Does it matter in the slightest?
td
> "td" <tomdedea...@mac.com> wrote:
>
> On Apr 4, 7:19 pm, Bob Lombard <thorsteinnos...@vermontel.net> wrote:
>
> > bassppn wrote: [ne-ver mind!]>
> >> :) You have endeared yourself to SE.
> > Who has, by the way, not contributed a single post to this thread. I
> > guess you know more of his views than I do. But as always, he
> > can speak for himself.
>
> Do you feel it is Emerson's duty
> to contribute, Tom? Does it matter in the slightest?
He can speak or not speak, as he chooses.
But it is hardly necessary for anyone to invoke his views. Or yours.
TD
Bob Lombard
produced no good sounds. Most of the Free World knows about SE's thing
for Baldwin pianos. #$@&*$ unintended consequences.
Matthew B. Tepper
be typed in news:cd0e8d41-27db-401b-b45b-
216c63...@5g2000yqj.googlegroups.com:
> I think Mr. Tepper is in error in remembering Jorge's '85 Minnesota recital
> being an all-Chopin program. That recital was broadcast by the local NPR
> station and included Schumann's Carnival, the Liszt b minor ballade and
> something else, either the Liszt Benediction de Dieu or Grieg Ballade. I
> agree with Mr. Tepper about the Chopin Third-- and anyone can verify our
> impression with the purchase of the Marston Records Bolet Chopin issue of a
> few years back. If I recall, Tom recorded here his dissatisfaction with
> that edition and that particular performance--but I would encourage anyone
> to obtain this set and Tom to give the Sonata a fresh hearing. A couple of
> months ago, Marston's email newsletter mentioned this among issues which
> are nearly out-of-stock--and he generally doesn't repress his issues.
Thanks for the correction; my memory did me wrong here, as I was somehow
conflating Bolet's recital with the all-Chopin set on Marston which contains
that Sonata #3. Unfortunately, the Minneapolis StarTribune's website only
does searches back to 2007, which is useless in this regard. At least I came
away from that recital with more than my then-girlfriend, who afterwards
could not stop talking about Bolet's mustache.
--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
Read about "Proty" here: http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/proty.html
To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion
Opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of my employers
td
I have no knowledge of such "things", Bob. Paying attention to
everyone's prejudices is far too hard.
TD
John Wiser
news:27b391cf-bb3d-4908...@r27g2000yqn.googlegroups.com...
Indeed, Tom, you have sufficient of them
-- prejudices, I mean --
to merit being ignored yourself.
td
> "td" <tomdedea...@mac.com> wrote in message
I agree. Please ignore me. You will be the Wiser for it.
TD
AGrey
>
> - Show quoted text -
Bolet's having died of complications from AIDS is recorded in various
biographies. It's relevant because his playing was clearly affected
by the wasting and associated illnesses in his last 5(?) years. I did
hear some good performances (broadcasts) but also remember some very
frail and going-through-the-motions playing from that period. If a
pianist died of, for example, a type of cancer that had caused serious
physical and wasting problems that had affected his or her playing,
I'd want to know. Not to be intrusive, but in order that I could make
a better informed assessment and know that a performance from that
period might not be indicative of his or her best playing and ultimate
intentions in the work.
Bolet often seemed timid in front of microphones, as if frightened of
judgement of inferiority if he hit a wrong note or showed an excess of
temperament. But I do remember a raw and almost frightening Dante
Sonata from him in the 1970s when he really 'let rip' in a way that
would surprise a lot of people. There were no microphones, of course!
Alan