Jorge Bolet facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jorge Bolet
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Bolet in 1975
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| Born | November 15, 1914 Havana, Cuba
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| Died | October 16, 1990 (aged 75) Mountain View, California, United States
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| Occupation | Pianist |
Jorge Bolet (born November 15, 1914 – died October 16, 1990) was a famous Cuban-born American pianist and teacher. He was known for his amazing skill and powerful performances. Some of his teachers were very famous musicians like Leopold Godowsky and Moriz Rosenthal. Rosenthal himself was a student of the legendary Franz Liszt.
Contents
The Life of Jorge Bolet
Early Life and Training
Jorge Bolet was born in Havana, Cuba. He moved to the United States to study music. He attended the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. This is a very respected music school.
He later taught at the same institute from 1939 to 1942. His piano teachers included some of the best musicians of his time. These included Leopold Godowsky, Josef Hofmann, and Moriz Rosenthal.
Early Career and Military Service
In 1937, Bolet won the Naumburg Competition. This was a big achievement for young musicians. After winning, he gave his first public concert.
In 1942, Bolet joined the US Army during World War II. He was sent to Japan after the war. There, he even conducted the first Japanese performance of the famous opera The Mikado.
Rising to Fame
Bolet made his first recordings in 1952. He recorded for the Boston label. He also recorded a difficult piece, Sergei Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 2. He played this with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
In 1960, Bolet played the piano for a movie called Song Without End. This film was about the life of Franz Liszt. The movie even won an Oscar for its music!
For many years, some music critics in America didn't fully appreciate Bolet's playing. They thought he focused too much on showing off his skill. Because of this, his recordings in the 1960s were hard to find.
However, everything changed in 1974. He gave an incredible concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City. This performance made him famous across the country. It proved his amazing talent to everyone.
Teaching and Later Career
From 1968 to 1977, Bolet was a Professor of Music at Indiana University. He taught piano to many students. In 1977, he became the Head of Piano at the Curtis Institute. This was a very important position. He took over from another famous pianist, Rudolf Serkin. However, he later left this job to focus more on his performing career.
In 1984, a TV channel called A&E broadcast a special series. It was called Bolet Meets Rachmaninoff. In this series, Bolet gave special lessons called masterclasses. He taught about Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3. The series ended with Bolet performing the entire concerto.
In 1978, a major record company, Decca/London, signed him to a contract. This was a big deal for Bolet, who was 64 years old. It meant his music would be heard by many more people around the world. He made many recordings of his favorite pieces until his death.
Final Years
Bolet's health began to get worse in 1988. He had a brain operation in 1989. He never fully recovered from it. Jorge Bolet passed away in October 1990 at his home in Mountain View, California.
His Music and Recordings
Jorge Bolet is especially remembered for playing and recording large, dramatic Romantic music pieces. He was excellent at works by composers like Franz Liszt, César Franck, and Frédéric Chopin.
He also loved playing piano transcriptions. These are pieces originally written for other instruments but arranged for piano. He was also known for playing unusual and very difficult music. This included works by Godowsky, which he had learned directly from the composer.
Bolet once said that his favorite difficult concerto was by Joseph Marx. He loved it because it required so much strength from the pianist. When he performed, he was completely focused. He moved very little, letting his music speak for itself.
In 2017–2018, a company called Audite released many of Bolet's live recordings. These were from radio broadcasts in Berlin. They showed his amazing performances with an audience.
Some of his important recordings include:
- Chopin, Four Ballades, Op. 23, 38, 47, 52.
- Chopin, Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2.
- Grieg, Edvard, Piano Concerto in A minor Op. 16.
- Liszt, Études D’Exécution Transcendante.
- Liszt, Bolet reDiscovered, RCA Red Seal.
- Liszt, Piano Works Vol. 1-7.
- Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor Op. 30.
- Schumann, Robert, Piano Concerto in A minor Op. 54.
- GREAT PIANISTS OF THE 20TH CENTURY VOLUME 10: JORGE BOLET I. This includes live recordings from his famous 1974 Carnegie Hall concert.
Instruments He Played
Throughout his career, Jorge Bolet often played on pianos made by two famous companies. These were Baldwin and C. Bechstein. He used these pianos for his concerts and recordings all over the world.
Images for kids
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See also
In Spanish: Jorge Bolet para niños
