Jorge Bolet - The Ambassador Auditorium Recitals (2026) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

CD1
01. Fantasie in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 28, MWV U 92 Écossaise: I. Con moto agitato - Andante (Live at Ambassador Auditorium Pasadena, California, 11 / 11 / 1981)
02. Fantasie in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 28, MWV U 92 Écossaise: II. Allegro con moto (Live at Ambassador Auditorium Pasadena, California, 11 / 11 / 1981)
03. Fantasie in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 28, MWV U 92 Écossaise: III. Presto (Live at Ambassador Auditorium Pasadena, California, 11 / 11 / 1981)
04. Fantasie in C Major, Op. 17: I. Durchaus phantastisch und leidenschaftlich vorzutragen (Live at Ambassador Auditorium Pasadena, California, 11 / 11 / 1981)
05. Fantasie in C Major, Op. 17: II. Mässig. Durchaus energisch (Live at Ambassador Auditorium Pasadena, California, 11 / 11 / 1981)
06. Fantasie in C Major, Op. 17: III. Langsam getragen. Durchweg leise zu halten (Live at Ambassador Auditorium Pasadena, California, 11 / 11 / 1981)
07. 12 Lieder von Franz Schubert, S. 558: No. 12, Ellens dritter Gesang Ave Maria (Live at Ambassador Auditorium Pasadena, California, 11 / 11 / 1981)
08. Müllerlieder von Franz Schubert, S. 565: No. 2, Der Müller und der Bach (Live at Ambassador Auditorium Pasadena, California, 11 / 11 / 1981)
09. Lieder aus Franz Schubert's Winterreise, S. 561: No. 7, Der Lindenbaum (Live at Ambassador Auditorium Pasadena, California, 11 / 11 / 1981)
10. Schwanengesang (After Franz Schubert), S. 560: No. 3, Aufenthalt (Live at Ambassador Auditorium Pasadena, California, 11 / 11 / 1981)
11. 12 Lieder von Franz Schubert, S. 558: No. 4, Erlkönig (Live at Ambassador Auditorium Pasadena, California, 11 / 11 / 1981)

CD2
01. Mephisto Waltz No. 1, S. 514 (Live at Ambassador Auditorium Pasadena, California, 11 / 11 / 1981)
02. Nocturnes, Op. 15: No. 2 in F-Sharp Major. Larghetto, B. 55 (Live at Ambassador Auditorium Pasadena, California, 11 / 11 / 1981)
03. 24 Preludes, Book III, Op. 12: No. 2 in E-Flat Minor. Andante espressivo (Live at Ambassador Auditorium Pasadena, California, 11 / 11 / 1981)
04. 24 Preludes, Book III, Op. 12: No. 3 in B-Flat Minor. Presto (Live at Ambassador Auditorium Pasadena, California, 11 / 11 / 1981)
05. 6 Phantasiestücke, Op. 52: No. 4, Die Jongleurin (Live at Ambassador Auditorium Pasadena, California, 11 / 11 / 1981)
06. Nocturnes, Op. 9, B. 54: No. 2 in E-Flat Major. Andante (Live at Ambassador Auditorium Pasadena, California, 11 / 11 / 1981)
07. Ballade in G Minor, Op. 24 (Live at Ambassador Auditorium Pasadena, California, 12 / 3 / 1986)
08. 4 Ballades, Op. 10: No. 1 in D Minor. Andante (Live at Ambassador Auditorium Pasadena, California, 12 / 3 / 1986)
09. 4 Ballades, Op. 10: No. 2 in D Major. Andante (Live at Ambassador Auditorium Pasadena, California, 12 / 3 / 1986)
10. 4 Ballades, Op. 10: No. 3 in B Minor. Intermezzo (Live at Ambassador Auditorium Pasadena, California, 12 / 3 / 1986)
11. 4 Ballades, Op. 10: No. 4 in B Major. Andante con moto (Live at Ambassador Auditorium Pasadena, California, 12 / 3 / 1986)

CD3
01. Ballade No. 2 in B Minor, S. 171 (Live at Ambassador Auditorium Pasadena, California, 12 / 3 / 1986)
02. Ballade No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 23, B. 66 (Live at Ambassador Auditorium Pasadena, California, 12 / 3 / 1986)
03. Ballade No. 2 in F Major, Op. 38, B. 102 (Live at Ambassador Auditorium Pasadena, California, 12 / 3 / 1986)
04. Ballade No. 3 in A-Flat Major, Op. 47, B. 136 (Live at Ambassador Auditorium Pasadena, California, 12 / 3 / 1986)
05. Ballade No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 52, B. 146 (Live at Ambassador Auditorium Pasadena, California, 12 / 3 / 1986)
06. L'Arlésienne Suite No. 1, Op. 23bis, WD 40: III. Adagietto (Live at Ambassador Auditorium Pasadena, California, 12 / 3 / 1986)
07. Études, Op. 25: No. 1 in A-Flat Major, B. 104 Aeolian Harp (Live at Ambassador Auditorium Pasadena, California, 12 / 3 / 1986)
08. Études, Op. 25: No. 2 in F Minor, B. 97 The Bees (Live at Ambassador Auditorium Pasadena, California, 12 / 3 / 1986)

The two recitals in this collection come from the last decade of Jorge Bolet’s career. While his Carnegie Hall recital from 1974 was recorded and released by RCA, very few other live performances of Bolet recorded under professional conditions have been released commercially. This archival recording give us a wonderful opportunity to hear Bolet performing for an audience – something he preferred to working in the recording studio.
Bolet was a strict, controlled and serious musician who could sometimes sound emotionally constrained in his studio recordings. On occasion though, he would give a recital performance that transcended his studio work with everything seeming to fall into place, and this first concert from 11 November 1981 has that quality to it. Bolet was evidently on form as he gave five encores to an enthusiastic audience. The two Preludes by Chasins do not appear in Bolet’s commercial discography. Located on the campus of Ambassador College in Pasadena, California, the 1262 seat Ambassador Auditorium was a major West Coast concert hall between 1974 and 1995 presenting around 2,500 concerts, and attracted the greatest instrumentalists and orchestras.