Customer Reviews

Bolet Rediscovered: Liszt Recital

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3 star:		(1)
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First of all, it is impossible to describe in words what you hear in music. The more profound the interpretation, the less likely you can explain it in words, but this is my attempt.

Although Bolet released several CDs of Liszt music; most prominently the double CD on Decca in the mid 1980's, I believe this one to be his finest. I am currently an undergraduate piano student, and I have become inspired to play the music of Liszt through hearing great pianists such as Bolet. I am currently playing and learning the Spanish Rhapsody, Tannhauser Overture, Liebestraum No. 3, and Un Sospiro; all of which are featured on this album.

The recordings on this CD are approximately ten years earlier than the one released on the Decca label, the mid 1970's. I believe that Bolet was technically as well as musically in his prime during this period of his life. This assessment is based on a comparison of his recordings from the 1970's vs. the 1980's, as well as the testimony of my longtime piano teacher, who while completing his graduate studies at Juilliard had an opportunity to see Bolet perform at Carnegie Hall in the mid 1970's, although this performance does not correspond with the one released on the "Great Pianists of the 20th Century".

The Un Sospiro recording on this album is one of the best. With Bolet as well as other great pianists, technical proficiency is not an issue in his playing. Looking at strictly the musical aspects, his interpretation of this piece is great. It has an overall mood of melancholy, more than anything, which I think is particularly evident in the closing measures of the piece.

The Spanish Rhapsody and Tannhauser Overture are two unfortunately neglected pieces among the piano literature. Any admirer of the Romantic composers in general and Liszt in particular will agree. I will say with confidence that Bolet's performance of both of these pieces are unparalleled in the modern era of piano playing. If anyone knows of a better performance of either of these pieces (in my opinion not Claudio Arrau or Leslie Howard) then let me know. Bolet's performance of the Tannhauser on this CD as well as on his live recording at Carnegie Hall are both superb, and should be heard by every Liszt enthusiast.

Well, there is my attempt at describing in words what Bolet does on the keyboard. An injustice, for sure, but listen for yourself and I don't think you will prove me wrong.

One must wonder what the lone 3-star reviewer would give Richter's Sofia recital. I mention this particular performance because listening to Bolet here in the Tannhauser Overture gave me a good case of goose bumps, like as I had not experienced since I first heard Richter in his famous Pictures over short wave radio while crossing the Atlantic on a freight ship. The two also merit comparison because of the superlative sound quality now given each (by Philips and RCA, respectively) using the new 24/96 mastering. We truly are living in a golden age of recorded music, with so many great performances now being reissued in stellar sound. This has to be my favorite piano cd of the past year. Bolet was at his peak when this was recorded, and you're not likely to find Liszt of this quality elsewhere. This is a huge performance, and the fact of the Tannhauser being recorded in one take (all 16 ½ minutes!) at the end of a regular session just blows my mind. (According to the notes, Liszt himself once had to rest in the middle of performing it.)

Just when you think you've got enough records, enough great performances, enough emotional and monetary investment, along comes a cd like this and makes this hobby of collecting all worthwhile. Fabulous!

I was not a big Liszt fan, to me, Liszt always seemed too bombastic, and sometimes it seemed too void of any artistic quality in its music. Often, I find my peers working on vitrousic pieces of Liszt while I typically go for Chopin, Schubert or the other Romnatics.

Well this CD has proven me wrong! Wow! I remember first listening to this CD in a library while studying for some stupid AP exam (chemistry ) and 5 seconds into the first piece (Liebestraum Nr. 3) I was hooked and could NOT pay attendtion to the stupid book anymore. I sat there and listened all the way to the 5th track motionlessly before returning to read about acids and bases, and even so I was routinely interrupted by the beautiful music. In fact now days I listen to the CD EVERYDAY, especially the Tannhauser Overature at the very end.

Bolet plays beautifully. From the first Liebestraum Nr. 3, he gives us true meaning of the word "Libebestraum" (or "Dreams of Love" translated) with a very gentle touch but is nevertheless full of "passionato" and "expressivo". The second track (Gnomenreigen), the 7th (Grand Galop chromtaique) and especially the 5th (La campanella) are all "cute" pieces that are great for encores. Un sospiro (track 3) is probably my favourite: it has the qualities of a cantabile but is infused with a passion that is rarely expressed by other pianists. Bolet's techique is flawless and the meleody sings with a rare beauty.

Now onto the centerpiece of the CD, the Tannhauser. Legend has it that this was such a diffcult piece that even Liszt himself when performing had to stop in the middle to rest. It is littered with octives, double octives, diffcult chords and plenty of fast and trill like passages. For Mr. Bolet, he decided to record this in an impromptu after a day of recording. When listened to, it is definitely hair-raising (and he definitely did not stop in the middle either!). The sheer power archieved by Mr. Bolet is overwhelming, but he is never too rash and uncareful. The piece ends magnificantly, leaving with you with a definite "wow".

Overall, this is probably one of the best Liszt CDs and piano CDs out there. Bolet is genius, and here pianoism and Liszt is at its finest.

Strange? Yes, because I have loved the music of Franz Liszt for decades, I have scores of Liszt recordings, I have heard dozens of pianists play Liszt - but Bolet passed me by.

Wonderful? Yes, yes, yes! There is not one work in this recording that failed to impress me deeply, move me, astound me, or at least bring a twinkle to my eye.

Would that I had words to say why I find "Un Sospiro" a minor miracle, why I find Bolet's interpretation of the "Funérailles" not so much idiosyncratic as authentic, why (for some reason I truly cannot explain) I do not find the 3rd "Liebestraum" in the least hackneyed or cloying when played as Bolet does here.

The "Tannhäuser" overture defies belief, all the more if you consider the circumstances of its recording. Some minor alterations in the "Rhapsodie Espagnole" are interesting rather than annoying; Bolet is well-justified if he claims Liszt did the same thing himself all the time.

If this recording is a reliable guide, it is my considered opinion that Bolet is second to none as an interpreter of Franz Liszt.

I deeply regret that I did not hear him in concert. This wonderful discovery came far too late.

Charley

The producer of this recording tells in the booklet notes that Jorge Bolet was at his absolute peak during these sessions - more than in his later London recordings which he calls stolid. I personally wouldn't be so negative about Bolet's later efforts, but on this disc from 1972-3 he certainly is in absolute top form. Here is one Liszt disc you'll want to listen to over and over because of its amazing richness in piano playing and the full exposure of Liszt's sound world. Bolet is a master of Romanticism and has an amazing feel for playing this type of music, Liszt in particular, `right'. He possesses a pearl-like tone that makes his legatos sound otherworldly, and has a thunderous strength as well - sometimes he can even be rough. But generally his playing shows a certain decent restraint that makes sure it doesn't become vulgar. Bolet's technique too was stellar, but at moments his fingers can be somewhat stiff and uncomfortable. His pros and cons and temperament do not completely suit a few included pieces, making them somewhat unsatisfactory. Other tracks however, are revelatory. I can only wonder how RCA managed to keep this disc abandoned for so long.

Bolet performs a Liebestraum that borders to the miraculous; I've seldom heard anyone play the piano with such an enchanting eloquence. Un Sospiro is also wonderful, although it doesn't touch the same extreme heights; it sounds as if he does not feel the same Dionysian inspiration as in the Liebestraum. La Campanella, another Liszt favorite, sparkles beautifully with a roaring climax - but it is obvious that Bolet's fingers are not really well-suited to this featherweight playing. The Gnomenreigen etude is too stiff and lacks contrast - but then, I don't give a damn about this piece (we could also have done without that nonsensical chromatic Galop and the Spanish rhapsody; where is Vallée d'Obermann anyway?).

Then we come to the two really great compositions on the disc (and, together with the Liebestraum, the main reason to get it immediately) namely Funérailles and the Tannhäuser Ouverture. Both are dazzling performances; without one hint of self-consciousness or sentimentality Bolet casts a thrilling spell over Funérailles. He handles the gripping sphere of the piece perfectly without sacrificing musicality to showmanship: the octave sections are certainly overwhelming (listen to this with speakers full on; you don't know what you're hearing!), but Bolet always applies that aforementioned restraint to keep things in proportion. Finally, there's the Tannhäuser Ouverture which is fantastic all the way through - as the booklet notes rightly remark, he starts decently and slowly but builds the intensity to a hair-rising pace in the last minutes. It gives me nothing but great joy to listen to such splendid piano playing, and I can forgive Bolet for his regularly overcharged fortissimos. Altogether, great cd and fantastic piano playing even though some tracks are less good (and certainly some pieces of choice). It settles Jorge Bolet among the greatest pianists of the 20th century.

I'm simply astounded!!
All I need to say is this is brilliant!
Buy this disc for the Tannhauser Overture transcription if nothing else, because I'm just stunned by it!
Overall, this is just a great single CD of Liszt piano music, but I'm taken aback the most by the Wagner transcription, for a few reasons: Liszt and Wagner were very close, practically like brothers (even though Wagner married Liszt's daughter), and they loved and respected each other's music, so it's no surprise one can match the other for musical style; Secondly, Liszt did a lot of transcribing of other composers works (He actually transcribed all 9 of Beethoven's symphonies) so this was something rather typical of his genius bringing music that was meant for a symphony orchestra to a piano keyboard and making it seem even bigger. Bolet did it in one take at the end of a recording session that was actually done for the day, and the engineers practically weren't ready for it (a miracle that they managed to get it all on 2 tapes and present it here edited together), and it's the perfect conclusion to this CD.
A must-have.

This is one of the finest classical purchases I've ever made. Bolets interpretations and artistry is one of beauty. I've never heard Liebestraum performed with such sensativity. Mt favorite is "La Campanella" in which he emphasizes the trills or triplets and offers up a different sound. I've never heard of him until I read a review in the paper about him. It too was an A+ review. I'm glad I purchased this beautiful recording. It will offer solace and tranquility at the end of a tough day. We certainly need a recording like this during these times. It is therapeutic. Now I know what they mean when they refered to Bolet as one of the greatest pianists of the 20th Century. He proves it here. Buy it...you'll cherish this one forvever.

Jorge Bolet's repertoire was limited - roughly, Beethoven through Liszt, plus some Rachmaninov and Prokofiev; hardly any Bach (except for the Bach-Busoni Chaconne) or Mozart, no moderns - but within that range he was one of 20th century's greatest pianists. It's a real shame that his stature among the classical music-loving crowd is not up to his immense gifts. Here is a pianist who had it all: the technique of a Lazar Berman, the unfaltering good taste of an Artur Rubinstein and the portentous yet suave sonority of an Emil Gilels. And these qualities show wonderfully in this CD. Bolet was, in his time, one of the world's greatest Liszt players, and this release catches him at his best. A not-to-be-missed disc.

It is unfortunate that Bolet, one of the greatest ever of American trained pianists, was not better served by recordings. While there is little hard evidence to back up another reviewer's theory about the reason for this (blaming homophobic New York liberals!), and Bolet was certainly not an age-battered pianist execept perhaps in the last two years of his performing career (he died in 1990) as reviews of his late-career live performances fully attest (e.g., Donal Henahan, NY Times, April 4, 1986), he was seldom the same in the studio as in live performances, as is apparent from recordings going back to the 1950s. Although the Tannhauser overture and Rhapsodie Espagnol on this recording do not quite equal Bolet's recorded live performances available elsewhere, they are nevertheless splendid examples of his finest pianism while he was still at his best technically (which means the best there is). We must now hope that there will a release of Bolet's live short London BBC-recorded recital of winter 1983, which proves how great a musician and pianist Bolet really was (in a program comprising works by Mendelssohn, Chopin & Rachmaninov). For me, the highlights of this recording are one of Bolet's best performances of "Funerailles," and a delightful "Grand Galop Chromatique."

This is a recording to be treasured and a very long overdue addition to the Bolet discography. Bravo and hats off to RCA once again, for it was they who helped Bolet win the acclaim he truly deserved with the release of his epic 1974 Carnegie Hall recital. Now with this "new" recording, perhaps another generation will discover a wonderful artist who suffered unjust neglect until relatively late in life.

I never dared hope that such a recording would ever surface. (Just what other holdings does RCA have?). A pity more recent recordings do not have such glorious sound. Very little, if any editing was done to these performances; Bolet preferred long takes and great honesty. Better to have a few finger slips than a pallid, careful performance. Bolet manages to keep all the balls bouncing and still keep his own! Also of note is the Rhapsody Espagnole, which Bolet frequently performed live but never commercially recorded--until now. The only extant version came from a live performance at Indiana University in 1972 (Lyra House LHL 1002). This is a must for all those who love truly great piano playing in the tradition of Rachmaninoff, Hofmann, Lhevinne and Godowsky or want to know it. Recommended without any reservations.