… often feel like a conversation between the intellectual and the emotional, requiring performers to balance clarity with warmth, and precision with spontaneity. And this is where Radu Lupu, a Romanian pianist known for his poetic and introspective approach, emerges as a natural fit. Johannes Brahms: 6 Piano Pieces, Op. 118 (Radu Lupu, piano) The Enigmatic Poet Radu Lupu Radu Lupu was one of the most enigmatic and revered pianists of the 20th and 21st centuries. Known for his reclusive nature and reluctance to engage with the media, Lupu let his music speak for itself. His performances were marked by an …

… tour of international engagements, and Lupu made his New York debut in April 1967. Remarkably, Lupu remained modest and somewhat reluctant. According to his own later reflections, he did not particularly enjoy competition. He saw them as nerve-wracking, and his reaction to the win was almost one of relief. Radu Lupu performs Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 2, “Andantino-Allegretto” (Van Cliburn) Homecoming Victory Radu Lupu Only a year after his Cliburn success, Lupu won the George Enescu International Piano Competition in 1967. This victory carried special weight, not only because Enescu was Romania’s most celebrated …

… the instrument. The whole balance, the line, the tone, is perceived and controlled by the head.” Radu Lupu Plays Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 19 in F Major, K. 459 Radu Lupu was born in Galați, Romania on 30 November 1945. He was the only child of Meyer Lupu, a lawyer, and Ana nee Gabor, a French teacher. He had his first piano lessons at the age of six with Lia Busuioceanu, and he performed his public debut in 1957 featuring his own compositions. Lupu remembered “from the very beginning, I regarded myself as a composer. I …

… a household name when I was growing up in the 1970s. My parents were keen concert-goers who heard all these pianists – and other now-legendary musicians – live in concert and their names were familiar to me from an early age. I don’t remember if I ever heard Radu Lupu live as a child, but I certainly heard his recordings. But it was not until 2014 that I was afforded the privilege of hearing him live, performing music by Franz Schubert, a composer with whom Lupu had a longstanding association. Everything I had read or heard about him …

… of his generation. His father’s pupils included both Emil Gilels and Sviatoslav Richter, and as his father’s assistant, Stanislav would have had teaching responsibilities as well. Outside his work for his father, he had his own teaching studio, beginning in 1957, with students including Vladimir Krainev, Radu Lupu, Brigitte Engerer, and his own son, Stanislav Bunin. In recognition of his artistic achievements, he was designated a People's Artist of the RSFSR in 1978. Despite that shadow, Stanislav made his own name and was recognised by Aram Khachaturian, in the paper Soviet Musician, as ‘ …

… Maurice Ravel Long’s La Petite Méthode de Piano, written when she was 89, remains in print, its exercises as whimsical as ever. Cortot’s editions of Chopin, annotated with fingerings and dynamic markings, are standard in conservatories worldwide. Yet, Long’s legacy is probably more subtle, as she taught pianists to listen to the silence between notes. As her student Radu Lupu recalled, “She didn’t teach technique. She taught poetry.” For more of the best in classical music, sign up for our E-Newsletter Marguerite Long plays Ravel: Piano Concerto in G

… Curcio and Simone Dinnerstein After she settled in Britain, her reputation as a teacher began to grow exponentially. Many of the most beloved pianists of the last and current centuries visited her studio seeking advice, including: Martha Argerich Simone Dinnerstein Leon Fleisher Radu Lupu Yevgeny Sudbin Inon Barnatan Mitsuko Uchida And those are only a few of many. Later Life and Death In 1971, when she was fifty-three, it came out that Diamand had an affair with actress Marlene Dietrich. He and Curcio divorced that year. However, he continued to speak positively of her and agreed to be …

… list down to the top eight, but here’s our best shot at it, presented in rough reverse order of influence and importance. Let us know if you think we got our ranking wrong (or right!). 8) Maria Curcio Pupils: Martha Argerich, Myung-whun Chung, Simone Dinnerstein, Leon Fleisher, Radu Lupu, Mitsuko Uchida Maria Curcio - piano teacher, her life and musical philosophy (part 1) Maria Curcio was born in the summer of 1918. Her father was Italian, and her Jewish-Brazilian mother was a talented pianist. She began playing piano when she was three years old and was consequently …