Pianist Radu Lupu shines bright in all-Schubert program

Pianist Radu Lupu performs with New York Philharmonic in this undated file photo. / Courtesy of Mastmedia

By Do Je-hae

Pianist Radu Lupu wrapped up his first-ever Seoul tour on Monday night with a couple of Beethoven concertos. But it is the all-Schubert program on Saturday that brought out the best of the Romanian piano virtuoso.

The 66-year-old artist has been synonymous with Schubert for most of his illustrious career. His Schubert recital at Seoul Arts Center Saturday demonstrated profound musicianship, elegant tone and depth of emotional expression that have helped label him as one of the most respected Schubert interpreters on the stage today.

The prime attraction of the recital came after intermission, when Lupu sat down to play the iconic D. 960 sonata in B-flat major, the last of Schubert’s 18 piano sonatas. In the first half of the concert, he played the four Impromptus D. 935, which has been a key part of his repertoire since the beginning of his career.

The D. 960 is the finale of a trilogy formed with the D. 958 and D. 959 sonatas. The final sonata was written in September 1828, some three months before his death at 31.

The sonata lasts more than 40 minutes and it takes a pianist of the utmost caliber to do justice to the majesty and mystery of the piece.

Lupu turned the intimate, tragic sonata into pure poetry, particularly in the second movement “Andante Sostenuto.”

What was amazing about his playing during the recital is how he is able to fill an entire concert hall while playing so quietly and contemplatively.

Lupu sits so close to the piano that it almost looks like he is attached to the instrument. In his concert performances, he does not use a piano bench, but instead an office chair. He also uses the soft pedal a lot to soften the notes.

After hearing him live, it was obvious that this piano virtuoso — although born in Romania and now based in London — inherits the Russian piano tradition. He studied with the renowned Russian teacher and pianist Heinrich Neuhaus who also taught Sviatoslav Richter and Emil Gilels. Lupu’s singing sound comes from early studies at the Moscow Conservatory.

The Grammy-winning artist had planned on touring Asia in 2010 and was going to make his Seoul debut at the time. But that had to be cancelled when he suddenly fell ill.

This time, concert organizer Mastmedia issued a statement confirming his arrival in Seoul on Thursday to reassure journalists that he would be performing.

He gives around 80 concerts a year around the world, but he has always worked in a selective and concentrated fashion. He limits his repertoire, prohibits photography or recordings during performances and has not spoken to the press in more than 30 years.

Because it is likely that he will not visit Korea again, it would have been better to start his Seoul tour with the Beethoven program first and then finish off with the Schubert program to leave a good last impression for the local audience. The legendary performer of the Austro-German classics has never given a concert here, although he has had 10 tours of Japan throughout his lengthy career.

Lupu and the accompanying orchestra, the Korean Symphony, showed good harmony, Lupu’s playing on Monday night did not quite capture the grandeur and the humor of the German master’s third and fourth piano concertos. In the first movement of the third concerto, the cadenza in particular lacked force and technical precision.

In a rare move, the soloist and the conductor played an encore together on the piano, the “military march” by Schubert.