Search - Jorge Bolet :: Jorge Bolet: Encores

The best of the last of Bolet

Shady Ave Reader | Arlington, VA | 09/16/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"An encore is obviously to be a show piece to let the listener leave happy, an extra dessert before heading out the door. Most of these pieces are familiar piano tunes, but perhaps less filling than one might expect for encores (although they are all indeed short). A few war-horses are included like the Minute Waltz, and a number of the pieces (not the performances) appear on other Bolet albums (with a few interesting exceptions).



If one listens to some of the recordings done late in Bolet's life,it seemed apparent that his illness was dulling his considerable talents, especially his speed and dynamics. Many of these recordings in his last years sound stiff. The album is softer in volume and lacks some of the blazing speed of his earlier years [there is another version of the Mendelsohn - Rondo Capriccioso recorded at Lincoln Center in 1972 which is 50% faster]. Yet it clearly reflects the soul of his best recordings. It is not stiff sounding, and Bolet seems to have his heart in his playing.



Looking over my recordings (not sure there is a published discography for Bolet) it appears that the pieces by R.Strauss, Bizet (transcribed by Godowsky), Moskowski and de Scholzer are only available on this recording.



It is a shame that this fine recording is now out of print, particularly when other Bolet recordings stay in print that do not show him at his best. LP versions of this are rare but can be bought for reasonable prices. The used CDs, equally scarce, seem to be offered at staggeringly high prices.



Of the recordings Bolet made in the late 1980's, I think this is one of the best."