Radu Lupu
Radu Lupu is firmly established as one of the most important musicians of his generation.
He is widely acknowledged as a leading interpreter of the works of Beethoven, Brahms,
Mozart, and Schubert. Since winning the prestigious Van Cliburn (1966) and Leeds (1969)
international competitions, Mr. Lupu has regularly performed as soloist and recitalist in
the musical capitals and major festivals of Europe and the US. He has appeared many times
with the Berliner Philharmoniker since his debut with that orchestra at the 1978 Salzburg
Festival under Herbert von Karajan, and with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, including
the opening concert of the 1986 Salzburg Festival under Riccardo Muti. He is also a
frequent visitor to the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and all of the major London
orchestras.
Mr. Lupu's first major American appearances were in 1972 with The Cleveland Orchestra
under Daniel Barenboim in New York, and with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra led by Carlo
Maria Giulini. Concerts with the New York Philharmonic soon followed, and Mr. Lupu has
since appeared with all of the foremost American orchestras.
Mr. Lupu's engagements in the 2012-2013 season include concerto performances with the
London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Colin Davis (for his 85th birthday celebrations),
Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra and Emmanuel Krivine, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale
di Santa Cecilia and David Afkham, Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Riccardo Muti, St. Louis
Symphony and David Robertson, Boston Symphony Orchestra and Christoph von Dohnányi,
Orchestre de Paris and Thomas Hengelbrock, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra and Marek
Janowski, and Orchestra Mozart Bologna and Claudio Abbado. He continues his cycle of the
Beethoven piano concertos at the new concert hall in Helsinki with the Finnish Chamber
Orchestra and Jukka-Pekka Saraste. Recital appearances include performances in Paris,
Geneva, Turin, and several cities in the US, as well as at the Aix-en-Provence, Vicenza,
Brescia, and Bergamo festivals. In addition, he undertakes his 10th tour of Japan and also
performs in Seoul, Korea.
At the request of Sir Colin Davis, who celebrated his 80th birthday with the New York
Philharmonic in 2007, Mr. Lupu appeared in a special series of concerts devoted to
concertos of Mozart. Also during the 2006-2007 season, he performed with the Boston
Symphony Orchestra, and the San Francisco and St. Louis symphonies.
Mr. Lupu has made more than 20 recordings for London/Decca, including the complete
Beethoven concertos with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Zubin Mehta, the complete
Mozart violin-and-piano sonatas with Szymon Goldberg, and numerous solo recordings of works
by Beethoven, Brahms, and Schubert. His most recent London/Decca releases are of Schubert's
sonatas, D. 960 and D. 664, which won a Grammy Award in 1995, and of Schumann's
Kinderszenen, Kreisleriana, and Humoresque, which won an Edison
Award in 1995. He has also made two recordings with pianist Murray Perahia (Sony Classical)
and two albums of Schubert lieder with soprano Barbara Hendricks (EMI). In 1998, he joined
Daniel Barenboim for a disc of Schubert works for piano four hands, released on the Teldec
label. In 2001, Decca re-released a two-CD set of Schubert's music for violin and piano,
featuring Mr. Lupu together with Szymon Goldberg.
Born in Romania in 1945, Mr. Lupu began studying the piano at the age of six with Lia
Busuioseanu. He made his public debut with a complete program of his own music at 12,
continuing his studies for several years with Florica Muzicescu and Cella Delavrance. In
1961, he won a scholarship to the Moscow State Conservatory, where he studied with Heinrich
Neuhaus and his son, Stanislav Neuhaus. During his seven years at the Moscow Conservatory,
he won first prize in the 1967 Enescu International Competition in addition to the Van
Cliburn and Leeds international competitions. In 1989 and again in 2006, he was awarded the
prestigious Abbiati Prize given by the Italian Critics' Association. He is also the
recipient of the 2006 Premio Internazionale Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli award.