Radu Lupu

The Romanian-born pianist Radu Lupu died earlier this week at 76, on the same day as pianist Nicholas Angelich and Harrison Birtwistle. Lupu retired in 2019, and from the obituaries, I assume the cause was ongoing ill health.

His death has brought forth quite a few admiring memorials; see, for example, David Allen's NY Times obit ("Radu Lupu, a pianist of rare refinement whose ruminative, enigmatic performances and recordings wove spells over his listeners, induced awe among his colleagues and confirmed him as one of the finest musicians ever to have graced his instrument,") and Alex Ross's economium ("For me, Lupu was the supreme living practitioner of his instrument, a musician and artist of the highest order").

My experience of the pianist was rather different. I saw him twice, and while I can agree with ruminative and enigmatic as reasonable descriptions of what I heard, the overall effect was not one of weaving a spell. It was more like putting me to sleep. I remember being extremely puzzled by Lupu's rendition of a Mozart piano concerto at San Francisco Symphony; here's Joshua Kosman's review, in which his judgment was much like mine.

A few years later, I caught a Cincinnati Symphony at Carnegie Hall, a program on which Lupu played Bartók's third piano concerto, which would seem to be the most congenial to his style. Reader, Bartók should never bore you, but this did. Hell, Mozart certainly shouldn't bore you. (Also on the Cincinnati program was the marvelous Lutoslawski Concerto for Orchestra.) Here's Allan Kozinn's NY Times review. Related, because of Lupu's handling of Janáček and Bartók on a solo recital, Allan Ulrich's review.

I own that I should check out Lupu's Schubert, available on record, and perhaps another composer or two, but I can't say that I love the late Brahms that has gotten lots of links this week. Let's just say that I prefer more muscular and propulsive playing.....for just about every composer.