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Frédéric Chopin Jorge Bolet, Piano 1 Polonaise in A-Flat Major, Op. 53 "Heroic" 06:49 2 Waltzes, Op. 64 01:44 No. 1 in D-flat Major “Waltz by Minutes” 3 Impromptu in C-Sharp Major, Op. 66, "Fantaisie- 04:49 Impromptu" 4 Nocturnes, Op. 9 04:54 No. 2 in E-flat Major 5 12 Etudes, Op. 10 02:33 No. 12 in C Minor “Revolutionary” 6 Polonaise for piano No. 3 in A major "Military", 05:03 Op. 40/1 7 12 Etudes, Op. 10 03:52 No. 3 in E Major “Tristesse” 8 Waltzes, Op. 64 04:00 No. 2 in C-sharp Minor 9 Preludes, Op. 28 05:54 No. 15 in D-flat Major 10 12 Etudes, Op. 10 01:40 No. 5 in G-flat Major A CHOPIN PIANO RECITAL it is impossible to find a single composition Waltz in D flat Major, Op. 64, No. 1 JORGE BOLET pianist which does not include the piano, either as Waltz in C sharp Minor, Op. 64, No. 2 soloist, chamber music partner or accompa- Side One: Polonaise in A flat Major, Op. 53 / nist. This unique devotion to a single instru- The first of these two waltzes is too often Waltz in D flat Major, Op. 64, No. 1 / Fantaisie- ment did not result in any sameness of style. mutilated by pianists who lay too much Impromptu, Op. 66 (Posthumous) / Nocturne True, almost anyone with any listening expe- stress on its two nicknames – Minute Waltz in E flat Major, Op. 9, No. 2 / Etude in C Minor, rience can spot a Chopin composition imme- and Waltz of the Little Dog. It is not meant to Op. 10, No. 12 (Revolutionary). diately; but that trade-mark was stamped be played in sixty seconds – “minute” here on music of widely varying character-showy means “small” – and though it is said that Side Two: Polonaise in A Major, Op. 40, No. concert works, meditative or sentimental Chopin wrote it in imitation of George Sand’s 1 (Military) / Etude in E Major, Op. 10, No. salon pieces, purposeful yet highly musical dog chasing its tail, the rhythmic implica- 3 / Waltz in C sharp Minor, Op. 64, No. 2 / studies and national dances of varied char- tions of the melody are far more significant Prelude in D flat Major, Op. 28, No. 15 / Etude acter. These compositions reflect the fusion than that. Rhythm is also the keynote of the in G flat Major, Op. 10, No. 5. within Chopin of Polish patriotism and Waltz in C sharp Minor, which constantly French finesse. To pianist and listener alike, wavers between a waltz and a mazurka. This Ask almost any music lover – and certainly their appeal is strong. waltz, then, is decidedly more Polish than any pianist – who his favorite composer Viennese. of short piano pieces is, and the answer is almost surely to be “Chopin, of course”. Polonaise in A flat Major, Op. 53 Then ask him which are his favorite Chopin Polonaise in A Major, Op. 40, No. 1 Fantaisie-Impromptu, Op. 66 works, and the chances are he will head his list with the ten compositions which com- The polonaise is a stately court dance which, This piece owes a large measure of its popu- prise this recorded recital. This, then, might despite the fact it is in triple meter, suggests larity to its lyrical middle section, which was be described as a sort of “all-time Chopin a march. Chopin has used the polonaise for adopted by Tin Pan Alley some years ago as hit parade”. Jorge Bolet, whose recent Liszt some of his most heroic music. Ever since I’m Always Chasing Rainbows; It is the first recordings for Everest have proved so excit- the advent of the motion picture A Song to of a group of works published, contrary to ing, demonstrates here that he is equally as Remember, which appeared in the 1940s, Chopin’s wishes, after his death. Authorities masterful in interpreting the romantic music the Polonaise in A flat Major, Op. 53, has have never been in agreement as to why the of Chopin. Once again, too, the Everest engi- been one of the most-played of all Chopin’s composer should have wished to withhold it. neers have demonstrated their unique abil- works. Though it has been subjected to all ity to capture Bolet’s brilliant tone with the manner of distortions, this work still retains same naturalness as it emerges in the concert its heroic grandeur when played by a seri- Nocturne in E flat Major, Op. 9, No. 1 hall. ous concert artist. According to Chopin’s biographer, Frederick Niecks, the composer The nocturne, as a keyboard piece, was first None of the great composers was ever as himself didn’t possess the physical strength developed by the Irish composer, John Field. musically exclusive as Frederic Chopin. to do justice to this polonaise. Vying with Chopin took the form and into it poured Many had their specialties, but none hewed the Polonaise in A flat Major for top popu- some of his richest melodic inspirations. In as closely to a single line as did Chopin. larity is the Polonaise in A Major, Op. 40, his hands this “night piece” became a beau- Going through the catalogue of his works, No. 1. Many of Chopin’s works in this form tiful poetic utterance. The Nocturne in E we find mostly short solo pieces but also con- tend to have somewhat of an introspective, flat Major, Op. 9, No. 2, belongs to Chopin’s certi and, other music with orchestra, sona- even brooding quality, but not this so-called earliest published group of these works. It tas, a trio and some songs. But among these Polonaise Militaire. It is all pomp and glitter. is the shortest of all the Nocturnes, but ever Bach’s two sets of preludes and fugues for this country, and has appeared frequently since his own day it has been a prime favorite The Well Tempered Clavier. The persistent in Europe, Central and South America. His among his compositions. repetition of the same single note in the most recent triumph has been as the pianist accompaniment of the Prelude No. 15 in for the sound-track of Song Without End, the D flat Major has earned it the nickname of motion picture on the life of Franz Liszt. His Etude in E Major, Op. 10, No. 3 Raindrop Prelude. The heavier, darker, more brilliant performances of music from the film Etude in G flat Major, Op. 10, No. 5 dramatic middle section has reminded some may be heard on Everest LPBR 6062/SDBR Etude in C Minor, Op. 10, No. 12 of a funeral procession of monks. 3062. In his twenty-seven Etudes, Chopin went far * * * Original Liner Notes by PAUL AFFELDER beyond the realm of mere teaching pieces. Whole sets of them are offered on concert JORGE BOLET (pronounced “George Bolett”) programs; in works of this type, they have was born in Havana. He began studying the yet to be surpassed. Huneker called them piano at the age of five. At nine he gave his “studies in moods, as well as in mechanism”, first public recital; at ten he appeared as and Niecks wrote: “The diversity of charac- soloist with the Havana Sinfonica. But Bolet ter exhibited in these Studies is very great. received most of his training in the United In some of them the aesthetical, in others the States. He won a scholarship to the Curtis technical purpose predominates; in a few the Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where his two are evenly balanced; in none is either of teacher in piano was David Saperton. When them absent.” Commentators are unanimous he graduated, the Cuban government sent in declaring the Etude in E Major, Op. 10, him to Europe for further study. While there No. 3, one of the most beautiful of Chopin’s he gave concerts in the principal music capi- melodic inspirations; even the composer tals. himself once declared to a pupil that he had never written anything as lovely as this. The Bolet made his North American debut as Etude in G flat Major, Op. 10, No. 5, is a study soloist with The Philadelphia Orchestra in playing on the black keys of the piano, the under Eugene Ormandy. This was followed right hand never departing from these five by a recital in New York’s Town Hall, the notes, though the left hand occasionally reward for having won the annual Young does. The Etude in C Minor, the last of the set Artists Award of the Naumburg Foundation. of Op. 10, goes far beyond the confines of a The next year he returned to Town Hall as the study. The so-called Revolutionary Etude, it is first and only winner of the Josef Hofmann a stormy tone poem inspired by the taking of Award, given by the Curtis Institute. Warsaw by the Russians in September, 1831. During World War II, Bolet served first in the Cuban Army and later with the United Prelude in D flat Major, Op. 28 No. 15 States Army, becoming a U. S. citizen. Since his return to civilian life, he has grown both Chopin’s Op. 28 comprises a set of twenty- in artistic stature and fame. He has played four Preludes which encompass all the major with most of the major symphony orchestras and minor keys, in the same manner as do of the nation, makes annual concert tours of Some notes on the history of Everest Below is a graphic representation of this new “wow and flutter” to an absolute minimum.

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