Customer Reviews

Beethoven: The Piano Concertos; 5 Sonatas; 2 Rondos

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Radu Lupu is indisputably one of the foremost pianists performing before the public today. Although his repertory is confined mainly to the classical school (Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and especially Schubert) with certain longer or shorter forays into other realms (Schumann, Brahms, Grieg or even Bartok, Janacek and Debussy), his live renditions as well as his recordings are greatly admired by worldwide audiences and praised by professional critics in flattering accolades. In a way, I dare say he remained - since Alfred Brendel's retirement - the most authoritative figure among living pianists with regard to Golden Triad "Mozart- Beethoven-Schubert".

Released by DECCA as a celebratory bow for the 60th anniversary of Lupu, this Beethoven CD box set comprises recordings made for this label by the great Romanian pianist over more than twenty years, since his emerging on international concert platform in early 1970s. Coming with a hat-trick of first prizes (won in prestigious international piano competitions: Van Cliburn - 1966, Enescu - 1967, Leeds - 1969) Radu Lupu rapidly established himself as one of the most important artists of his generation. An artist who has something profound, deeply thought and felt, to convey through the music he performs!

Actually it is very difficult to speak about Lupu's manner to play as long as its owner himself is not confident with words and barely gives an interview in decades! It is quite impossible to put it in a definition, just listen to that marvellous imperial pronouncement which is in his hands the E flat major Concerto. His serene, airy touch in the second movement is simply hair-rising. His unassuming virtuosity - bordering on a strange, austere noblesse - is so simple and natural displayed in the demanding outer parts of the concerto. It reminds me one critic said once that with Lupu "music is not made, just happens". Then adhere to his joy - and its three distinct facets - in the lively parts of the First Piano Concerto in C major. How sober and restrained approaches he that lament which is the central Andante con motto in the Concerto No.4 in G major or the bold textures of the Concerto No.3 in C minor, first to announce a new, grand-scale vision in Beethoven outcome. The three piano sonatas (with famous nicknames: "Pathetique", "Waldstein", "Moonlight") are three "moments of grace", making us regret that Lupu didn't record any other Beethoven's sonata. In consolation we enjoy the 32 Variations in C minor and two Rondos op.51 and - most of all - a superb account of a chamber gem, the Quintet in E flat major.

Being awarded with prestigious prizes (such as: Edison Award, Grammy Award, "Abbiati" Prize, "Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli" Prize), recognized as a living legend, eagerly sought-after, apparently distant and elusive but in fact taming incandescent inner worlds, Radu Lupu continues to seduce his audiences. For the moment, his art reveals itself only in live appearances. Until he will decide to return to recording studios don't hesitate to acquire this Beethoven box set (along with the two companion volumes in the anniversary edition, devoted to Schubert and Brahms respectively). They are essential mementos of the magisterial art of Radu Lupu!

The Zubin Mehta phenomenon in classical music has always been one of the most incomprehensible to me. It's not worth going into endless surprises of coarseness and almost hostile approaches to music that his various performances have provided over the years. But proof that everyone has a bad day, which for a conductor with a grim output means almost the opposite, there is this Emperor Concerto.. It means there was one day where the heavens parted, or the mind cleared, and a great performance was given. The Emperor concerto here is just spectacular. Details appear in the orchestration like fauna of the forest, and the pianist is given a bold and bucolic background for a very brave performance. I don't know what to make of it. Except to say it is great.

On a cold February evening, Radu Lupu entered the Kennedy Center Concert Hall with Italian Conductor Gianandrea Noseda. After a brief bow to a sparse audience, Lupu sat motionless and unobtrusively in a plain chair as Noseda and the National Symphony Orchestra opened with the Allegro from Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto. Lupu, his feet close together, sat back from the piano keys like a timid salesman waiting for an appointment. After Beethoven's self asserted introduction, the piano repeated the allegro theme, at times delicate in counterpoint; the playing, enhanced and heightened by rising violins, is neither forced nor nonchalant, disclosimg Lupu's poetic artistry of experience and reverie. The exquisite Largo opens so slowly, so patiently, each note so clear and pristine, like a floating bubble; by the time the violins enter the listener realizes Lupu's performance is a deeply personal evocation of this short middle movement. Beethoven' s tribute to Mozart shows in the Rondo as he seems to bridge his classic and romantic strains at this point of the composer's early career. Revisiting this wonderful live performance was the reason for purchasing this CD. Lupu playing, Mehta conducting and the Israel Philharmonic performance is as close to my enthralling Concert Hall experience as possible.

I've been assured, by a raft of Unhelpfuls and snarky comments, that my reviews of Radu Lupu are far off the mark. I have not been a fan of the Romanian pianist, now 64, who made the bulk of his recordings decades ago. I felt that I should return to them now that Decca is commemorating their long-standing relationship with Lupu by gathering hs discography into mid-priced box sets. Here we have the five Beethoven piano concertos filled out with three sonatas, two rondos, a set of variations, and the early quintet for piano and winds.

The concertos with Mehta and the Israel Phil. date from the late Seventies/early Eighties and come in excellent sound, with the piano miked close up. Concerto #1 reminded me immediately of my doubts about Lupu. He produces an even, elegant tone, but everything is so underplayed that I am baffled why anyone would admire it. It's as if the pianist wants to erase himself form the picture by a superhuman ct of restraint. Another admired pianist, Andras Schiff, tends to mirror this approach. The finale is springy and vivacious, however; it's the saving grace of the performance.

I quickly realized that a detailed review of every concerto might seem like rubbing salt in the wound. There are good impressions. The Adagio of Concerto #2 is elegantly handled, and the finale is bouncy and exuberant. Throughout Lupu is assured and capable of a pearlescent tone even in the fastest passagework. Mehta has generally excelled as an accompanist, but here he offers almost no ideas. Instead of being an equal partner, he is content to provide a comfortable cushion of orchestra sound. This becomes more damaging as the concertos become greater. The third has a dull, cautious first movement on the part of both soloist and conductor. I much prefer to hear this work as a bold precursor to the Emperor Cto. The most enjoyable movements, as in the two earlier works, is the buoyant finale.

Those who love tis kind of playing, praised by the Gramophone as "beguilingly elegant," will feel differently of course. The sight of Lupu in concert sounds ntriguing: "Seated on an upright chair and bearded like some Victorian sage he addressed the keyboard with a rare blend of intelligence and sensibility." Back to the matter at hand, Mehta gives us the long orchestral introduction to the Fourth Cto. in workmanlike fashion, after which Lupu's solo part is done n a "sweetly poetic" fashion -- I can't disagree with the Gramophone reviewer's words. But must Lupu be sweetly poetic in every bar? It wouldn't hurt to hear some temperament. The finale, where Mehta does little with the orchestral part, finds Lupu spinning more strands of pearls; it's very elegant, almost miniaturized at times. Maybe it's this ultra finesse that so enthuses his fans. That seems to be a good bet, since the Gramophone praises Lupu's Beethoven for being "much more ethereal, much more the visionary dreamer".

Since they were done over a seven-year period, these recordings are not baked in the same oven. It's good to report that Mehta is robust and alert in the Emperor Cto., and Lupu gets off to a sweeping start. Here the balance between his innate elegance and the heroic nature of the music is well balanced. It's not exciting or visceral, but it's involving, which counts for a lot. Every bar is thought through; nothing is casual. This performance is the best of the lot, and if you like kindred readings by Brendel and Perahia, Lupu's version will appeal to you.

Actually, for me Lupu becomes more interesting in the three sonatas -- the Mooonlight, Pathetique, and Waldstein. He's enough of a stylist, and so obviously thoughtful, that each one kept my attention. If I were his manager, I'd offer the first movement of the Moonlight as a demo to show how beautifully restrained playing can work when it is also this sensitive. There's so much unexpected strength elsewhere that I wondered why Lupu didn't call upon it more in the concertos, but the real gem of this 4-CD set is the last item, the Quintet for Piano and Winds, which gets a reading that feels impeccable in every way, including the magnificent wind playing from four outstanding London soloists -- it is well worth seeking out on its own.

I recently ordered this same CD as a gift for my wife. She loved it so much that she asked me to order another one as a going-away gift for a close friend, who was leaving the state. The friend loved it as well. If you love Beethoven, you can't go wrong buying this CD. I cannot think of anyone who plays his piano concertos any better.