… Volodos, have a good ear, so perhaps you should seek work as a piano tuner.” According to Volodos, “I was going nowhere in St. Petersburg. Even my own mother did not realize the enormous talent residing within her son.” Volodos transferred to Moscow and started to work with his first real teacher, Galina Egiazarova. She had been a student of Alexander Goldenweiser, himself a pupil of Alexander Siloti. Early in her career, Egiazarova devoted herself to teaching and she counted Radu Lupu among her students. Egiazarova quickly recognized and nurtured Arcadi’s extraordinary genius, and he

… sonic universe, and I think the older an artist gets the more personal their playing becomes… And hearing has to come first. Everything starts with the ear, and one cannot have a good technique if it does not start from the ear, even in scales and arpeggios. For me, the ear controls and anticipates the intentions of the pianist.” Sadly, as Merlet explains, there are also many listeners who cannot hear “all the subtleties. I don’t think the general public can say why they prefer to hear Radu Lupu rather than Kissin, and yet there …

… the details of the score, Schiff really gets to the heart, soul, and fundamental humanity of Schubert in his playing and brings a compelling intimacy to his performances, even in the largest of concert halls. Franz Schubert: 3 Klavierstücke, D. 946 - No. 2 in E-Flat Major (András Schiff, piano) Radu Lupu Radu Lupu The great Romanian pianist Radu Lupu, who died in April 2022, was described by Gramophone magazine as “A lyricist in a thousand”, who placed Schubert’s music at the centre of his repertoire throughout his career. Sensitive to Schubert’s mercurial moods …

Murray Perahia: Winner in 1972 Leeds International Piano Competition © medici.tv Since its inception, the Leeds International Piano Competition has attained a highly respected reputation as the “most coveted prize in the piano world and internationally acclaimed for introducing some of the greatest pianists of our time”. Renowned artists including Radu Lupu and Murray Perahia launched their careers by taking first prize; Mitsuko Uchida and Sir András Schiff were among the Leeds' prize winners, awarded 2nd and 3rd prize respectively. Since its inauguration event in September 1963, founder Dame Fanny Waterman was at the helm as …

… if halfway through a phrase. There is no discernible “main theme”; instead numerous melodies and themes are tucked in several layers. A skilled interpreter can bring all these layers together to create a coherent whole. Here is Radu Lupu: Johannes Brahms: 2 Rhapsodies, Op. 79 (Radu Lupu, piano) Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini One of the most famous Rhapsodies and an iconic piece in the pianist’s repertoire, Rachmaninoff composed this work for piano and orchestra – in effect a piano concert all in a single movement – at his summer home, Villa Senar in Switzerland …

… four hands. Prior to this, Schubert only wrote two other sonatas and one sonatina for piano four hands, but none of them are as extensive as this work. Schubert wrote these while staying in Court Esterházy’s house. The Grand Duo, D. 812, remains one of the most famous pieces for piano four-hands. Schumann described the piece as a “symphony arranged for the piano.” Franz Schubert: Sonata for Piano 4 Hands in C Major, Op. 140, D. 812, "Grand Duo" (Radu Lupu, piano; Daniel Barenboim, piano) Divertissement on a French motif D. 823 …

… “we bid farewell to a master, musician and philosopher with a unique gift for conveying Chopin’s greatness to the world both in words and, above all, through his playing. In a special album recorded to mark the artist’s sixtieth birthday, Martha Argerich, Leon Fleisher and Radu Lupu wrote, “Fou Ts’ong became one of the great teachers of our time. We are obliged to Fou Ts’ong for all his new ideas and for opening new musical horizons for all of us.” His former student William Youn writes, “he was …

… His interpretations are marked by absolute freedom, spontaneity and explosiveness. That poetry and esctasy in his playing of Scriabin’s Valse! And what a performance with white-hot passion and unparalleled intensity here! Take note of the roaring bass in the central section, symbolising boiling desire and urge. 5. Radu Lupu Radu Lupu© Hiroyuki Ito / The New York Times Lupu is probably the most seclusive pianist of all time – almost always declining interview invitations, zero social media engagement, last commercial recording made in mid-1990s… His Mozart is certainly the most sublime that I’ve ever heard …