I agree

Thank Bellini for that, not Liszt

@@DynastieArtistique What's your point? You are talking as if turning a 2.5 hours long opera into a 15 minute masterpiece is not thankworthy.

@@tibetatakan of course, just don’t thank Liszt and only Liszt. It bothers me that people don’t even know who Bellini is much less have heard of an opera called Norma. Not to mention, if you were familiar with Norma then you’d know that Liszt only incorporated a very small amount of moments and themes in this transcription. He definitely did not “condense a 2.5 hour opera” into a piano piece. It’s just a fantasy based on a few themes (and they’re not even presented in chronological order). Just a few reasons I consider Liszts opera fantasies to be some of his least impressive works.

Obviously this is thanks to Bellini, this is way it is una reminiscencia de Norma, and that means, it is an interpretation from Liszt of that great opera. Liszt, as with other operas, just want to make- to be short- a reminiscence of Norma. That it. As he did many others, including Wagner's, his son of law. But, the interpretation of Bolet, is amazing. So, Liszt just did a reminiscence of that. And he did it as usual...great.

This part is INCREDIBLE.

Listen to Raymond Lewenthal's version.

One of mine too - cannot understand why he was so underrated

Che meraviglia ascoltare ,suono perfetto una vera chicca! Grazie Signor Luca.

Every knowledgable pianist knows about Bolet and Barere in Liszt . It's the stuff of legends noone forgets esp. when there are records and many films of Arrau and Bolet and Michelangeli and Cziffra etc. !

The part after Guerra Guerra sounds much more beautiful at bolet’s tempo than others (not that Tozer plays it bad by any means, I actually think his recording is the best)

You're damn right. I'm glad I found someone who thinks the same, you have good tastes ! 😁

Easily one of the top five pianists in the world at the time of this performance, and could have played this any tempo he wanted. It's a magnificent performance and exceptional pianism. Today I can't think of anyone who would come close.

I'm glad you drew attention to Geoffrey Tozer's excellent recording, which to my hearing is ideally attuned to the drama of Bellini's masterpiece. Thank you.

I also agree that it sound better if you start it slower and gradually get faster a bit

Couldn’t agree more. It’s a shame that he was sitting on the sidelines for most of his prime. Thankful for what we do have, though.

@@denizuz4840 Yes, thankfully he made many recordings and a good number of filmed performances, such as this one exist. His masterclasses on Rachmaninov 2 and 3 are also superb.

He only made four records before the age of forty, and those in his late thirties It was another six years before he made his fifth. In our age of mediocre talent making millions of dollars before the age of twenty, it's difficult to fathom how one of the greatest musical talents of the 20th century had to wait so long to receive appropriate recognition.

@@ly776 I couldn’t agree more

@@ly776 good to hear him on an instrument superior to the bleak colorless Baldwin

Bitlogic my dude Bolet representin’ Bellini spittin’ straight fire

Agree, other pianist usually rush and most Audience would probably have no idea that it was 2 themes

Great masterclass. Didn't realize was in Scotland

I couldn't agree with you more. I'm reminded of the footage of his masterclass on Liszt's Dante sonata, and the Benediction of God in Solitude after it. He explains to the performer so many nuanced touches to make the most of egogic points and changes in dynamics, in just three phrases (or so) of the middle slow section of that piece. You hear so many pianists these days who play through the quieter bits to get to the 'exciting' development later, whereas he sees this universe of beauty and detail. I'd have loved to hear him play the sonatas of Rachmaninov, Scriabin or Barber to see what he would have done with them.

Indeed; Bolet was even greater than Horowitz

@@vnwa7390 yeahh, horowitz overoverrated pianist

agree

Hey hey, don't forget the mighty Czirffa

This is the recording of the Musicales program of September 17, 1988 on the FR3 channel on French television doc.rero.ch/record/110533/files/1988-09-17.pdf

He was actually still very healthy! I met him backstage exactly in these years! He was touring around the world as if a young boy!

@@andream.464no he really wasn’t. He was in declining health and had started to curb his tempos. Which I think he did very musically. But he definitely slowed them down. I met a favorite student of his, Annie, in Marin, not too far Mountain View, where he died. She had inherited his Baldwin from his home. I sat in the room while she recorded one of the Liszt Hungarian rhapsodies. I discussed with her this very piece(the Norma). In ~2002. She said he slowed everything down, particularly in the last five years. Unfortunately she died of breast cancer before, I believe, she ever finished her album. She didn’t use the Baldwin for the recording. It needed too much refinishing.

This is an utterly precious document which is the gold standard for interpreting this piece.

Nope, sorry Zoltan Kocsis and but both of Marc-Andre Hamelin’s play far more technically solid interpretations on Audiophile (16’51”) then more recently on Hyperion leave this in the dust. Yet another example of comment section groupthink turning to hagiography, why do people do this? The old man Bolet has to take a practice tempo to barely cross the finish huffing and wheezing at 21’ Speed isn’t everything in most endeavors but it is a big part of bravura and playing the immortal masterpieces of Franz Liszt.

Es Lizst NO otro. 🇮🇷

@@RozarSmacco , you are excused.

@@RozarSmacco It's not a horserace, it's a performance.

You have better info Peter! I wish I heard him live. I got my 1st Bolet LP in 1985, but I dont think he came to Scotland when I was at Uni in Edinburgh otherwise I would have definitely gone to see him. This is 1988 too: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/max_lK6YlsfLpIU.html&ab_channel=JorgeBolet-Topic .

1988 is more likely I think.

@@neilford99 I'm similarly confused, as the quality would suggest much earlier. We've had color tv broadcasting since the 50s

1980-something is right. Here is Jorge in 1983: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/bNyii9l_u7PTeIU.html

I have this exact broadcast in color. I have no idea why this is BW..

@@James_Bowie he programmed the work in 1988. Played it at Carnegie Hall recital.

Mi la lascia senza fiato

Da rulli ?

Mr. Bolet did not look like that in the 50's. I knew him in the early 70's and he shows more age in this telecast than when I knew him. Also, to be frank, he is playing very "carefully" at this stage, as anybody who knows his playing through his career would understand. Also, the Baldwin logo is in keeping with the time listed at the top. In the 50's, Baldwin's logo was Old English style. His performances in this repertoire bear the stamp of phenomenal authenticity. Mr. Bolet was an extraordinary musician, and brought all the respect to this repertoire that Schnabel brought to Bach and Beethoven. Music lovers are fortunate that a peerless technician such as Bolet lavished his love and dedication on this music. This is greatest Liszt playing you can find, and is a priceless treasure!

Austin Johnson He didn’t play like this in the 50s !

Oh shush

Pathetic. The conception of it is lost on you.

It's amazing how many shallow classical experts are out there. They know everything - and know nothing.

Of course, slow it down to 0.65x so it ends up at the real tempo that Liszt intended for this piece.

Really, understood?

Kocsis is very impressive. But you are talking ass if you understood this piece more than Bolet

@@unidentifieduser5346 and you are writing as you understood the music at all.

@@DavidBallpianist how do you jump to that conclusion? Explain logically and not subjectively

Please upload your version

@@chezbe What a silly thing to say. As if people can't critique a performance. How fucking stupid can you be?

@@MrQwerty88 upload your version, because no one can play like him

Sergei Prokofiev most of people finish this piece in 18 minutes, so it’s obvious that he plays much slowlier than others, but I think he puts more effort on the interpretation, so I could say his performance still better than most of people. I like Tozer’s version as well, he does the same effort on this piece but plays it not too “slowly.” BUT the comment like yours which only ask others to “upload your version” is really meaningless

@@qntwshvl429 mne pohui