Bolet - Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody #12

[paganviodio]

bolet had actually be known to any music lover. hence, this wasnt so. which makes me always sad. imagine, people would see a horowitz, as a piano god. i cant think of any piece which horowitz could and bolet not. i know a rachmaninov concerto 3, which is played by both of them, and to me bolet plays it better than horowitz. but many would reject that, because ppl dont understand from music, they go with the names, who has a greater name, is a greater pianist.

[paganviodio]

well there are not many pianists who can do this piece "on the stage" without any take, or cut. there are many recordings, always "studio records", none concert. bolet should be praised as one of the best technician on the piano. this cannot be done better than that. and in a concert hall, actually we witness here something like a wonder. he makes allmost no mistake, the middle part both hands very difficult. maybe a cziffra, or richter could do such a thing, bolet belongs also to this legaue.

[080adrian080]

This rhapsody is one of the best, but especially like the part from 9:16 to 9:36

[frentury]

I think differently - i'm really tired of these comments (that get many ups, don't ask me why) complaining about the other comments, especially if somebody doesn't like the recording. No, not all is down to taste - first you have to Have a taste. For example, i like this recording, but i don't mind comments where people write that they don't - the only thing i need is for them to write well-based arguments why.

But i wouldn't like it more if there were just comments of praise, that's empty.

[jewelain]

These are just one of those pieces where I just sit there and gape smh

[maestroanth]

God that melody from around 6:30 in makes me cry every time. Liszt randomly put it there just for that reason.

[Will84ABA]

9:34 watch his left hand!!!!!! what a powerfull but controlled action!

[Gunmetallic91]

im trying to be more interested in all kinds of music, led zeppelin makes me dazed and confused, wu-tang clan makes me think violent, atmosphere inspires me, andrea bocelli is beauty in my ears, but when i watched this vid i caught my self hypnotized and i loved it till the end

[Starbirdy9999]

9 people are from the Baroque period of music...

[werq34ac]

@Starbirdy9999 What's wrong with the Baroque period? =P Think before you say stuff.

ANYWAY, WHOOOOOO!!! great piece, great performer, I want to play a hungarian rhapsody now...

[Starbirdy9999]

@werq34ac I meant that people from the Baroque period wouldn't like this...

[Will84ABA]

Jorge Bolet is hte best Liszt performer of all time and one of the most gifted pianists. His technique is incredible!

[paulostroff99]

@Will84ABA -He is perhaps the most underrated of all the twentieth century piano greats.

[novisibersk]

All this wonderful music making on a Baldwin grand.......now if this isn't a rarity.....

I like the 'growl' a Baldwin elicits in the lower range and the sweet to woody roundness of the upper tones........this is a classic perf all around!!

[thepoetryandthehuman]

Is there something biiger, something better, than a feeling?

[brianbernsteintv]

A completely unique interpretation... this man has golden ears to produce such a well honed sound. The keys sound like crystal clear bells.

[adaskopitasko]

Epic Mustache :)

[TheCARAGG]

oh~~that's hurrible~

i like it very much~

[sergiobantam]

Bolet é, sem dúvida alguma, um dos dez maiores pianistas de todos os tempos.

Não dá pra não reconhecê-lo como absolutamente incomparável na interpretação, Perlée, técnica, etc. Absoluto ...

Viva Bolet!

[calcmandan]

What a BEAUTIFUL performance. I love Bolet! What beautiful fidelity!

[calcmandan]

What a BEAUTIFUL performance. I love Bolet!

[wagneristhebest]

what on earth are you all on about! without opinions, there would be no such thing as good piano playing!? just because you like the performance dosent mean other people like it.

[joao975ca]

We must all thank Bolet and Liszt for this wonderful moment! Amazing!

[Pianofy]

You can interpret Liszt with freedom in his Rhapsody's. This man does that. Interpretation is also part of the creation of art. Interpretation of the composer is slightly different than the one who plays the piece, and interpretation of the listener is also slightly different.

Everyone can find different meaning in the Mona Lisa.. Consider that.

[Martel211996]

If it wasent for the fucking idiots on the comments I would not have even noticed a mistake. I mean really, you would have to listen to this on full volume in half speed to notice one.

[npiano2001]

Having studied with (and about) Bolet, I can tell you that his choice of "filling in" the chords was deliberate and well-thought out. Whether or not he changed that penultimate chord, we don't know unless he told someone that was a choice he had made. It works. He had been taught to alternate fingers in his trills, and that is why they may seem to "lock" as someone suggested. (That would not be my choice of fingerings.) He did teach very great respect for (and analysis of ) the score.

[smb12321]

@npiano2001 I'd give almost anything to have heard Bolet off-stage and learn his reasoning behind the interpretation. There is something slightly wild and romantic about the old romantic school. One reason is their closeness (time and spirit) to the composer - sometimes a direct line..

The Van Cliburn competitions feature incredible virtuosity yet there is frequently a mechanistic feel to the playing. It's as if someone is dancing by mentally counting the steps.

[eribani]

Love the how he nicely enhanced the left hand at the 9:42 passage ;)

[fraanciscoo]

Can someone explain the penultimate chord (10:08)? I've never heard it played that way. I assume it's on purpose. Nevertheless, it sounds great.

[eribani]

@fraanciscoo I have terrible ears, but from what I can hear he plays e-flat minor in the right hand instead of g flat major, but keeps the left hand chord in g flat major. so he plays some sort of a seventh chord on e-flat major. might be by accident getting too carried away in his playing. there might be some other notes in there but i can't really tell.

[TheMandrino]

Of course, I am just a poor musician, but I enjoy Maestro Bolet in his interpretations of Liszt, who, by the way, is one of the most complex piano composers,

[cowheadcow]

Well, this is impressive.

[anonymousQ45]

the first theme is so dark i would like to do research on this piece, when it was written and wat Liszt was going thru at the time

[The1825]

it's outstanding!!! thanks for posting this video! wonderful performance!

[richclayderman]

this is perfection, lIszt would be fucking proud

[donaldcallen]

The person who posted this had it right -- complete mastery. There's not much else you can say -- just a great, great pianist.

[latchy01234]

How many mistakes has this guy made in this peace of music its the only version i have herd that has alot of mistakes every other live peace i have herd has no mistakes.

[ernstfg]

This is the best performance of Liszt I've heard in my entire life! It really made my day!

[MrFlowOne]

magific

[Deltar2r]

he plays nice, definitely a professional with his own distinctive style. And for those who are looking for the perfect pianist to come, rest assured...Franz Liszt was the one and only, nothing will ever come close, and since then we had a miriad of pianists with awesome talent but still, Liszt was a GOD

[brassmonkeyjew]

And you know this cause you heard Liszt play...

[Deltar2r]

i have everything from Liszt, grew up on him. Heard every interpretation worth listening to. And yes, he was a gift, a prodigy.

[Rachmanfan4life]

Ok Deltar2r, I myself am a huge Liszt fan, and and will defend your statement of Liszt being a god...(lower case on purpose)...however, "one and only" is only in terms of style, type and taste. I can make the same argument for Chopin..(and defend it easily over Liszt)....but it would be only because I prefer his 'style' of playing...not because he is the one and only. It's apples to oranges. Liszt is unreal though.....just amazing.

[Deltar2r]

@Rachmanfan4life i didnt mean 1 and only to compare to other genius'.

[anonymousQ45]

@Deltar2r well duh

[Deltar2r]

@brassmonkeyjew lollll, nope but to make these items u should be very good

[twooffour]

@Deltar2r

Same is said about Art Tatum.

[pianostruggler]

I have many Bolet/Liszt CDs. This is the 1st time I've ever seen him play. So many years of musical pleasure has this great man given to me. We're now so lucky to live in the digital world so that these wonderful artists' works can be recorded, hopefully for all time. How sad for us to be deprived of Franz Liszt's

(1811-1886) legendary pyrotechnics at the keyboard. Thank God we have his music.

[lamsalgado]

I simply love Bolet

[Ricomaninoff2]

A true master of Lizst!

[liebestraumer]

the best for ever and ever.....

[MrMrMikayel]

Is Super!!!

Mikayel

[costellopianist]

those modern stupid pianists just to finish and make shows .... bolet is my favorites but he's not my perfect pianist.. but we all know that liszt was a perfect piansit but when are going to find that person?

[costellopianist]

as a normal pianist he's great but as george bolet or as a vertious pianist he's not that great.. when we r going to find the super pianist the one who is great at technic and interpretations.. i found here many mistakes maybe not in note .. but sometimes in way of using pedal ... especially that there was no stacatto notes done .. he was playing just like

[costellopianist]

the hardest part in the whole piece is at 7:03 don't think it's easy .. yesterday i made my own fingering so it's getting better now

[willpianofreak]

why does he have to lift his hands up so high?

[UMSHFMOD]

Wonderful. It is full of life and musicality. I still prefer Murray Perahia's rendition of this piece though.

[jubulalau]

Flawless.

[kiman9414]

this guy is so good he makes me look stupid on the piano

[Classicmozayful]

and for gods sake, those saying his technique wasnt great;

"bolet had one of the best techniques of the past 100 years, do you know nothing?"

[Classicmozayful]

"with his equipment bolet could probably even out-thunder horowitz, but that was not his style, in fact, he tended to underplay due to his early reputation as nothing but a virtuoso"

[Classicmozayful]

beautifully aristocratic yet profoundly emotional, never any sentimentality; and rightly so.

I LOVE JORGE BOLET.

simple as.

[soami2u]

You said it well. Bolet had studied with David Saperton, who had been a pupil of the great Jozef Hofmann--and if ever there was an aristocrat of the piano it was Hofmann, in a Golden Age of Romantic pianism when there were so many Aristocrats of the keyboard. I think Bolet could be seen as coming from that tradition. His Liszt playing always puts the music first, rather than presenting it as only pyrotechnics and bombast.

[cristianevallim]

Super!

[dogbreath19]

Can't we all just enjoy the performance without it being a competition?

No one is "better".

People are just DIFFERENT.

[theblackpiano]

agree

[seanydee500]

Cliburn is WAY better

[frederickfrederikfre]

Yeeeeesss

[slyme1711]

who gives a rats arse, watched Bolet from the choir loft, one of my favorite experiences. Enjoy this performance folks.

[arturon111]

he had ugly sound and no legato/singing tone,.... banging+banging the piano !!!

[kempff95]

perfect mood!!!!!!

[smb12321]

I would - just for once- like to read comments about the playing of the Great Masters without having to endure any of the following:

"It wasn't that great"

"I don't know why people think he's so great"

"I play better than that"

"I've heard better"

"At 4:04 he had B flat instead of A flat"

"Too fast/slow/loud/soft"

"He doesn't interpret the piece correctly"

GREAT video but greater recording.

[jegspillerpiano]

@smb12321 "He doesn't interpret the piece correctly" is a valid type of comment (not correct for Bolet of course!). "Too fast/slow/loud/soft" - so is this. They are good musical criticisms and everybody has a right to say it, even if wrong. It is healthy discussion. However, I agree.. "At 4:04 he had B flat instead of A flat" - these type comments are pathetic and pedantic, usually spoken by people who have no ceoncept of what great music is all about.

[smb12321]

@jegspillerpiano I guess what my main gripe was that folks who can't read music much less come close to the artist, feel perfectly entitled to coment on the performance. Music is so subjective and yet almost everyone can agree on a great artist. I played (until a doctor messed up my nerves) so I know the difficulty I'm hearing. Even then, I am astounded at the virtuosity of the artist.

Bolet is one of the last of the "old school". I have one of his old albums somewhere. 

[princenosiatajansen]

@smb12321

Yes, u can hear it directly, that he is from the old school.

his piano is SINGING...

not shouting, barking....

[SSJBartSimpson]

@smb12321 Of course they heard it, that's why they were so good. People told them why they sucked, so they worked at it until they didn't suck anymore. If someone told them they this a B flat instead of an A flat at 4:04, they worked at it until they hit the A flat, if someone told them they were too fast, they slowed it down until they were in time. Criticism is our best friend as a musician.

[smb12321]

@SSJBartSimpson I daresay that the folks correcting the Great Ones were musicians - NOT Youtube viewers in their PJs nursing their fifth beer. LOL I don't mind criticism from a better rival. What I can't stand is some moron who can't play Chop Sticks giving me (or anyone else) performance tips.

[89hedgehog]

@smb12321 This is a beautiful transcription, great great talent :-)

We must all ignore the "madman: on YT LOL

I do prefer Jung Lin's Liszt HR2, but that does not lessen my admiration for Bolet and what he did here.

[satyu131089]

@smb12321 man... i loved that "at 4:04 he had B flat...." comment :) but i think certain critical opinions(like ashkenazy plays the coda better or something) could be allowed, cos they help viewers get aware of different performances as well...

[cubanito323]

@smb12321 because theres people like you that doesnt understand that even a pause is music so just listen .

[coffeescup]

@smb12321 AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!

[chimpanzeenator]

@smb12321 thank you. for being someone who understands the pain of being a music major in college. who deals with this every second of their lives. i study music for myself, not to be better than others.

[smb12321]

@chimpanzeenator Alas, this is true in all areas. I can't recall how many times I've seen You Tube posters adamantly state that Einstein, Darwin, Hawking were "wrong" or that they knew all the details of the "secret" conspiracy by Jews / Catholics / Chinese / aliens for world domination. Do you laugh or cry?

Instead, simply make music! Good luck in school.

[paulostroff99]

@smb12321 -Very well said.The bigotry is so stupid.

[costellopianist]

god bless this inhuman  FRANZ LISZT . a true genious immortal composer

[blueyoyi]

beautiful,.... simply beautiful interpretation!!

[lisztchopinscriabin]

what a boring piano playing, beautifull tone, but no interpretation...

[RDSerebrianny]

Slightly incomprehensible statement. It's impossible to play a single note without interpretation. How piano is piano? What is rate of crescendo? What is shape of rubato? How long is fermata? Inferior recordings are also well known to remove finest shades of playing. Perhaps you mean you don't like his interpretation, or there is not enough 'unpredictable' or 'freedom'? Valid opinions, but if so, that's what you should say.

[paulostroff99]

Beautiful playing by a great pianist! Bravo! TY.

[aslanov]

hey look! its john cleese at 1:40

great performance too

[PacoFarinos]

Bolet is a master!

CLassy, poetic, honest, vibrating, great technique.

He's got it all!

[gulyasbalint09]

A Lúdas Matyi zenéje 06:00-tól!:D

[ocsike85]

Jaja! :D

[jihadhamwi]

its nice but i think that Hungarian Rhapsody n2 is the best for Liszt .or the best piano piece ever ...

[ciprian25]

He was great. Such great control, so gentle...great!

[paganviodio]

yeah man it still amazes me...i´d love to fill here this youtube with compliments for him. i tell ya, in terms that this was a concert, who has the control in concert in that grade?...in concerts there are always things going lost. but this...i am really amazed.

[Mkamalid]

inspirational

[paganviodio]

he was one the top five pianists in the history. and he was a really passionate smoker. he even couldnt stand it if he couldnt smoke at the intermissions of concerts. he also died on cigarettes. thank you very much for this record. one thing- put the same video under the Titel-´Liszt, other people who doesnt know him should also hear what Bolet was.

[paganviodio]

it is just fucking amazing...this brilliance in concert. bolet was an another underrated greatness of this world. this is surely a better pianist than,lets say, rubinstein or not? everybody knows rubinstein, but how many knows bolet...like francescatti on violin, or janos starker on cello. this bolet is AT LEAST so great as the greatest famous pianist. Who the fuck can play this Hungarian rhapsody in CONCERT so brilliant.d´you know how difficult this piece is ?...Im very moved. thanks.

[hisimperialmajesty]

A very nice performance. Seemed a bit over-dramatic at times, but hey, it's part of the performance. I also found it interesting that he used a more "straight-fingered" approach to the keys, much like Horowitz.

[neocholiszt]

it could have been more romantic-period like

[neocholiszt]

he plays this piece like a mozart piece!

[xclassicheadx]

that's actually a good thing lol..

dunno if people notice that.

[liszt73]

fantastic :-)

[OJD84]

Brilliant, inspirational! wish I could do that when I'm that age. Love it.

[mordent17]

mmm...No it cannot, be because its 70's according to the vid description. What piano is he playing on?

[mordent17]

Is he playing a FAZIOLI?

[nycanonymous]

Baldwin.

[samyooljackson]

"very clumsy pianoplaying, beautifull tone, but this is no liszt..."

and you would know how Liszt would have played it??

[DarkDomnu]

No, he actually has a point; there are plenty of mistakes, most of which don't detract from the overall charm, but which are still clear. Even in the last few chords (I think the second to last?) he makes a mistake. Overall, I would give this a 6 out of 10. I would expect fewer mistakes (not none!.. even the best pianists of our time make mistakes) from an experienced pianist.

[gracha123]

how good is that intro!!? wow.

[Grigor99]

Bolet always reminded me a little bit of Michaelangeli, but with a little more openess in the playing.

[piano345]

Unlike Horowitz and Cziffra, Bolet could be over cautious in virtuso works such as Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies, Totentanz,the Hungarian Fantasy and Piano Concertos. They need a feeling of abandon and improvisatory flair. However, he had a certain aristocratic reserve and nobility and always produced a beautiful cantabile and full sonority at climaxes. His version of the Wagner/Liszt Tannhauser Overture 'live' from Carnegie Hall (1974) is superb.

[oakdogdave]

if i cuold trouble you....

where do you put Van Cliburn (1962) re Liszt?

also, have you heard Sergenia (sp)?

respecting your opinion,

oak dog

[piano345]

I haven't heared Cliburn's Liszt but his Rach 3 with Kondrashin is one of my favourite interpretations. A big bold majestic account. Sorry but I'm not familiar with Sergenia. Perhaps u could enlighten me?

[AulicExclusiva]

He hits many wrong notes here, but it's still a WONDERFUL performance, full of personality and panache, and truly aristocratic in spirit and dash.

Bolet was a superb Liszt interpreter because he was not only a brilliant virtuoso but a very spontaneous and living musician, full of sensuality, temperament and wit. A Latin!

[maestrooncue]

How do you know that he hits many wrong notes?

[AulicExclusiva]

Because I can hear it.

[maestrooncue]

What score are you using to determine the wrong notes? I will look at the same edition that you have.

[rifatsaygin]

Jorge Bolet was my great uncle. And I got to him listening and performing Liszt. I did not have a chance to now him very closely but every serious musician I have met tells me that he was the best Liszt performer. He also got lots of awards for rediscovering Liszt Recital. So please do not say he is not for Liszt pieces.

[whitepower6900]

he has some serious mustache goin on

[ric55]

lovesGenet-you have said it all. Bolet played through his experience-his life, his teachers,his constant travels, the great musicians he met-all the stuff you don't ever learn from teachers in Conservatoires.

[lovesGenet]

Bolet is a grt Lisztian HIS INSTINCT for phraseology and sound is SOOO right. My generation sounds unimagin whenthey play Legendes or Late Liszt . This man sounds like a ghost -its n his southAmerican blood. He has this music.Pollini, polease.different era and assumptions about Liszt and piano playing . u people under 40 listen to canned music too much .GETOUT AND FEEL EXPERience then it might COME TO YOU. until then dont listen to Paderew or Depachmann ,Roczalski

[fabio99999999]

I think his performance on this piece was pretty good.

[kwastormayt]

this man creates his own storms within the composition and he was a great teacher

[marcelmombeekeigen]

that "storm" was a very clumsy one. Please listen to real liszt players: cziffra, berman, horowitz, arrau

[kwastormayt]

and where is Bolet - Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody #2

[nico22059]

Great!

[Spion1618]

Do you know what does Liszt mean in hungarian? It means flour. :D:D

[soami2u]

Liszt is the Hungarian phonetic spelling for a German name, List. Liszt was born in Raiding, present-day Burgenland, Austria. He grew up speaking German and never learned Hungarian. He probably had little if any Hungarian blood. I think he "marketed" himself as a Hungarian because it seemed exotic and gave him so much more charisma than being just another Austrian pianist.

[mannhummel]

Franz Liszt was born in into an ethnic Hungarian[3][4][5] family on October 22, 1811, in the village of Raiding (Hungarian: Doborján it was the Hasburg empire composed by the actual HUNGARY and Austria it was so normal that Hungarian people were living in Austria and by the way his nationality was italian and for that reason he was rejected by the Parisien conservatory because he was NOT French, I think you know only part of his life and BTW he was very hungarian in his way of life..

[soami2u]

Sorry--Liszt was NOT an ethnic Hungarian. His family was German, as was his last name. Yes--Raiding was considered to be part of Hungary at that time. After WW 1 there was a plebiscite and residents of that part of western Hungary voted to join Austria as part of the state, or land of Burgenland, since they were all or mostly Germanic by language and/or ethnicity.

[soami2u]

"Liszt's descent on the paternal side is rooted in German-speaking migrants to western Hungary in the late seventeenth century" (from the biography "Liszt" by Derek Watson, NY, 1989). All biographies I have consulted state that the original spelling of the surname was LIST, which is German, not Hungarian. Liszt's mother was Anna Laeger, a draper's daughter from Lower Austria. The "Z" added to Liszt's surname was to prevent its mispronunciation by Hungarian speakers.

[MihDiV]

Hey, soami2u! I'm an ethnic hungarian. Liszt mother was austrian, his father was hungarian. His fathers name was Liszt Ádám... Anyway, the word liszt means flour in hungarian! :D

[soami2u]

It's only an accident that the Magyarized spelling of a German name, List, spells a word in the Hungarian language. If you can substantiate your claim that Adam Liszt was an ethnic Hungarian I will be impressed. However everything I have read has claimed that Adam Liszt was the descendent of ethnic Germans who settled in western Hungary a few generations earlier.

[mannhummel]

Sorry to you HE WAS ETHNIC HUNGARIAN.

[soami2u]

Sorry to you HE WAS NOT ETHNIC HUNGARIAN. You have to go by documented FACTS instead of wishful thinking.

[soami2u]

Mannhummel: an article you may find enlightening on this subject can be googled on the internet: "How Hungarian was Liszt?" by Coby Lubliner.

[Jirzy]

This is truly an excellent performance. I have a feeling that Van Cliburn's version has some kind of more natural flow like real improvisation. This sounds sometime like born in laboratory. But still amazing.

[marcelmombeekeigen]

very clumsy pianoplaying, beautifull tone, but this is no liszt...

[ywhorowitz]

Bolet is remembered by many as one of the finest interpreters of Liszt's music. It might also be worth mentioning that Bolet spent a brief period studying under one of Liszt's pupils, Moriz Rosenthal. I agree that this isn't one of Bolet's best performances. Try listening to his 1982 recording of this piece (London label)--I think it's great.

[marcelmombeekeigen]

yes, I know that 82 recording, in my opinion he learnt nothing with rosenthal, bolet is not a liszt interpret, but he plays alwyas with a very very beautifull tone, but dramatic feeling zero.

[maestrooncue]

Clumsy piano playing with out tone is what I found when I listened to your playing.

[marcelmombeek]

my piano playing is not for discussion here, and your answer is very easy my friend. First of all try to listen to more then 25OOO recordings like I did, and then decide. Bolet is NO liszt specialist.

[maestrooncue]

Why should your piano playing not be up for discussion, after all you are an expert, aren't you? I am not the one who says that Bolet is a Liszt specialist, but rather, the critics of the 20th century: Harold C. Shonberg, Byrin Belt, Hariet Johnson, A.H. Tannenbaum, Desmond S. Taylor, just to name a few.

[marcelmombeek]

there are also critics who are saying helfgott is still a genius... maybe they all lost there ears.

[maestrooncue]

Yes, they've lost their ears and you have a perfect set ;). Go to live concerts as they did and I have for the past 35+ years. You can hear the nuances that "recordings" can't offer.

[marcelmombeek]

I have heard live: bolet, ashkenazy, horowitz, cziffra, zimerman, richter, pollini, volodos... the two where I almost felt a sleep whas bolet and pollini. The only thing bolet had "good" whas his tone...

[maestrooncue]

I have two simple questions: if Bolet is not "your cup of tea" why do you keep returning here? Why do you bother to listen to him?

[maxi937]

Do you find Pollini's playing really boring? I do.

[marcelmombeekeigen]

you can discuss my pianoplaying at my channel.I find Bolet a very very great musician, but not in liszt. That's my opinion and if some-one has the right to say "he is the best liszt player", I have the richt to say "he is the worst". However, pollini is worser.

[kwastormayt]

25OOO recordings lol

[marcelmombeek]

why lol??? it's even more then 25000...I am for 25 years a collector...

[kwastormayt]

you must have collected at least 3 recordings per day

[rifatsaygin]

Jorge Bolet was my great uncle. And I got to him listening and performing Liszt. I did not have a chance to now him very closely but every serious musician I have met tells me that he was the best Liszt performer. He also got lots of awards for rediscovering Liszt Recital. So please do not say he is not for Liszt pieces.

[MDegher]

Questo è un grande pianista! Grandi le sue interpretazioni di Rachmaninov

[msoliman]

I encourage you to check out Van Cliburn's rendition of this. Just do a YouTube search for: cliburn liszt 12

He has an interesting interpretation as well, though it is a tad bit too fast for my personal tastes in some sections.

Otherwise, nice post. I love hearing these different interpretations. :)

[msoliman]

I love his phrasing, though the little mistakes stood out a little more than I'd like. I fatigue a little bit during the sustained 3-4 trill near the end causing my fingers to lock up if I'm not relaxed enough. It seems he did the same.

The arrangement is interesting. He changed the left-hand octaves into full chords for the very last section. I didn't see that option in my music. Is there an Urtext version of this piece?

[suremate]

I think I remember him mentioning in another video that he got that from Hofmann.

[michanso2]

Bolet added things all the time--especially LH octaves. According to my teacher, who was very good friends with Bolet for a long time, he just thought the music needed it, so he did it. Very often it wasn't in any editions, just his interpretation.

[ric55]

Compare if you will this excellent performance with another elsewhere,as self-centred and wilful as this is correct and in the true Lisztian tradition.

[donaldcallen]

Bolet was a great, great pianist. This is quite a performance. You can't understand how good this is unless you've tried to play this piece.

[tsukiyo777]

Amazing! Everything's so darn clear! I'm currently learning this piece and I'm using Bolet as a role model - he's so freaking good! His ending is pretty unique. The swing at the end really adds something to the entire performance. Thank you so much for posting!I do agree that he shows complete mastery of this Rhapsody. ^_^

[kuan1981]

I LOVE Bolet playing Liszt.  Thanks so much!

[TheGreatRichter]

I have just recently bought the Liszt Piano works by Jorge Bolet on Decca a mammoth 9 CD's, for me he is one of the finest interpreters of Liszt's piano music played in true romantic style.

[Hofmann1937]

Bravo!

[mrsbirling]

thank you so much for posting!