soulpope

Jorge Bolet finally with Liszt Sonata b-minor on Decca recorded September 1982 @ Kingsway Hall London .... expectedly wondrous ....

Celia Cruz @ Blue Note NYC in 1993 (Photography : Enid Farner) ….

Ben Harper „Diamonds On The Inside“ (Virgin) 2002 ….

Yep ....

Günter Wand - as usual - brisker paced, but not rushed ....

Vitaly Margulis plays Scriabin Etudes "live" in the late 1990's ....

Anatol Ugorski plays Liszt Sonata in b-minor "live" in the early 2000's ....

Distinct view on Bach .....

Sadaf „Let It Burn“ (Outside Insight) 2017 ....

Russian Red "Agent Cooper" (Octubre) 2014 ....

Great Cover Photography by Lawrence N. Shustak ....

Here and wow .... and anytime ....

Both excellent, nevertheless Chopin/Godowky nearer to my heart ....

You're welcome 👍 ....

His career never really took off and when he was finally signed by RCA in 1972 and a master-tape of works by Liszt was made but not issued. The tape languished on the shelf for thirty years and was finally issued on CD in 2001 by RCA as "Bolet Rediscovered" (btw a "must have") .... Jorge Bolet - who was already 60 years (!!) at that time - said much later about the Carnegie Hall Concert " I hate to hear myself play, and up till now, there's been only one recording I can stand—and that comes from a 1974 Carnegie Hall recital which RCA put out." Critic Eric Salzman wrote about the released Concert : 'I don't know about you, but much as I like tramping off to unusual places for unusual experiences, I wouldn't normally walk across the street to hear anyone play a piano transcription of Wagner's Tannhauser Overture - unless . . . unless perhaps the player were Liszt himself playing his own arrangement. Well, Jorge Bolet is not Liszt, but he is about as close as you can come these days, and you can hear him playing the bejeezuz out of that transcription in your own living room on a new RCA recording.' Of the Chopin Preludes: 'There was no hyphen involved in these, but the program might just as well have read "Chopin-Bolet", for he takes every possible expressive liberty, playing off the beat, sustaining tones, arpeggiating chords, creating new lines and cross -rhythms, playing fast and free with the tempos, even changing the text here and there. Yet all of it has such authority and sensibility of touch, nuance, color, line, and phrase that one ends up agreeing with Bolet and not the dry-bone notes of the printed music! He re-creates it all afresh.' Concerning the Viennese waltzes: 'In a way, it's a pity that so much skill - and I mean musicality, sensitivity, swiftness, sureness, taste, and communicativeness, not mere facility - is tossed away so lightly, so prodigally, on so many soap bubbles.' Subsequently to this sensational concert it took anothe two years before producer Peter Wadland persuaded Ray Ware (of the L'Oiseau-Lyre/ DECCA label) to meet Jorge Bolet. His reminiscences : "Jorge Bolet had given a recital the day before the sessions, Sunday, 2 October 1977" Wadland picks up the story. ‘I remember the Queen Elizabeth Hall being almost empty, with perhaps as few as 200 people there (after all there had been no publicity) but when it came to the end there was a standing ovation— not only from the audience but also from all the critics—something I have never witnessed before or since. I persuaded Ray Ware, then Label Manager of L'Oiseau-Lyre to meet Jorge and myself for lunch. I was surprised that Jorge seemed slightly mistrustful of our intentions. He had, after all, not had wonderful experiences with record companies. Finally I was able to persuade him to make this record for L'Oiseau-Lyre, and the sessions took place on October 3rd and 4th, 1977, at Kingsway Hall." But it took another four years (during which he toured recurringly) before Jorge Bolet started recording for Decca on ongoing bases from 1981 onwards .... btw unfortunatey the artist became seriously lill and the recordings from the later 80`s suffer from that fact ....

Actress Jamie Lee Curtis (Photography : unknown) ….

A concert which changed his public perception .... and considered by Jorge Bolet as highlight of his career ....

Frank A. Tusa @ Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society, Half Moon Bay California in April 1984 (Photography : Brian McMillen) ....

As good as it gets ....

Obviously the whole career of Sviatoslv Richter was wondrous, but i do prefer his later recordings where his incredible technical furor has been partially suplanted by slowed down and pensive readings .... and this approach suits well with Haydn sonatas ....

Tom Waits classic ....

Agreed on all accounts .... btw got this one 😇😁 ....

Very good 👍 ....

Conjunto Clasico "Mentirosa" (Lo Mejor Records) 1979 .... another Tito Nieves gem .... and Andy Gonzalez enjoys an off-day from Conjunto Libre ....

Sviatoslav Richter plays Haydn Hob 46 "live" @ Schliersee in 1991 .... the dance is still on, but a different insight and wisdom ....