Mandryka writes, "Maybe one reason I think he's falling into neglect is that he was overplayed on American radio when he was alive -- I remember an American once saying to me that he was just always being played, and everyone got well and truly sick and tired of his style."
I'm an American and I don't remember Bolet getting overplayed on the radio. But then I lived in Philadelphia & New York City during the 1980s. Maybe it was a West coast thing?
What I do remember is that Bolet had a reputation for being a better pianist in the concert hall than he was in the recording studio.
& I can attest to this. In 1989, I heard Bolet play his final concert at Carnegie Hall, and remember that he opened the program with a deeply moving performance of Liszt's Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude. It surprised me, as I hadn't expected to be so moved by Liszt.
The next day I went to Tower Records and bought the Decca CD of Bolet's Bénédiction. When I got home and put the CD on my player, I found that the studio performance was more tame and subdued and less imaginative and creative that what I'd heard in concert. It didn't have the same magic. In concert, Bolet's playing was somehow more alive. So, I now understood what people had been talking about, when they said that Bolet was at his best in the concert hall.
Which is not to say that I don't treasure some of Bolet's studio recordings. I do. Most of all, his "Harmonies du Soir" from Liszt's Transcendental Etudes. It's one of my all-time favorite performances of this piece, and my favorite recording of the 12 Transcendental Etudes, overall. I even prefer Bolet to Claudio Arrau here (although I prefer Arrau in the Sonata in B minor):
https://www.amazon.com/Liszt-Piano-...al+etudes&qid=1588358201&s=music&sr=1-1-fkmr0
(There are also two earlier Bolet recordings of the Liszt Etudes--on RCA Victor and Ensayo, which I've not heard:
.)
Another favorite Bolet disc of mine is his Decca recording of Liszt's Liebesträume (3 Nocturnes), 6 Consolations & 3 Concert Studies:
https://www.amazon.com/Liszt-Concert-Studies-Consolations-Reminiscences/dp/B00000E39R
Bolet's recording of Liszt's Années de Pèlegrinage, Book 1, the 'Swiss years', is exceptional, too:
When I lived in Philadelphia, I knew several Curtis Institute students and can remember one of them grumbling about Bolet one day after she'd heard him play a faculty recital. She complained that his piano touch was too heavy. That was the first time I'd heard of Bolet. Later, when I'd heard his playing for myself, I found that I didn't agree with her (and I don't care pianists that pound on the keys). Rather, I thought that Bolet had real strength at the piano, and there is a difference.
Here's a Bolet story from those times: one summer during a sweltering heat wave in the city of Philadelphia--when the temperature had reached the high 90s for several days in a row, I remember hearing that Bolet had arrived at the Curtis Institute to tell his students that due to the extreme hot conditions they needn't practice the full amount that day. Instead, he advised them to only practice for "8 hours" and call it a day. Apparently, that was a light day for Bolet!
To my surprise, in checking You Tube, I find that the concert I attended in 1989 was taped--although it's a pirated tape and the sound is frustratingly lacking. So, don't expect the same intense listening experience that I had at Carnegie Hall in 1989: unless you can transcend the poor audio with your imagination. Nevertheless, after re-listening to the concert, I do still think that it's a magical Bénédiction de Dieu dans la Solitude. I'd also recommend listening to the rest of the concert, too--a fine Schubert Sonata D. 959 & several Liszt transcriptions & encores. Sadly, Bolet would die a year and 7 months later on October 16, 1990. I can remember being very surprised and saddened when I heard the news of his death. Bolet had projected such strength at the piano that night. I would never have guessed that he was so ill at the time:
Here too is a link to Bolet's Decca studio recording of the Bénédiction, for comparison: