Radu Lupu Illness: What Was Radu Lupu’s Health Condition?

Romanian pianist, Radu Lupu, died in Lausanne, after a long illness, on 17 April 2022, aged 76.

The exact nature of Lupu’s multiple prolonged illnesses was not stated.

Lupu had retired from public performances in 2019, after several years of canceling many engagements due to poor health, and had not recorded since the mid-1990s.

He was widely recognized as one of the greatest pianists of his time. Born in Galați, Romania, Lupu began studying piano at the age of six.

Two of his major piano teachers were Florica Musicescu, who also taught Dinu Lipatti, and Heinrich Neuhaus, who also taught Sviatoslav Richter and Emil Gilels.

From 1966 to 1969, he won three of the world’s most prestigious piano competitions: the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (1966), the George Enescu International Piano Competition (1967), and the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition (1969).

These victories launched Lupu’s international career, and he appeared with all of the major orchestras and at all of the major festivals and music capitals of the world.

From 1970 to 1993, Lupu made over 20 recordings for Decca Records.

His solo recordings, which have received considerable acclaim, include works by Beethoven, Brahms, Grieg, Mozart, Schubert, and Schumann, including all of Beethoven’s piano concertos and five piano sonatas and other solo works; the Grieg and Schumann piano concertos, as well as three major solo works of Schumann; nine piano sonatas and the Impromptus and Moments musicaux of Schubert; various major solo works and the first piano concerto of Brahms; and two piano concertos of Mozart.

His chamber music recordings for Decca include all of Mozart’s sonatas for violin and piano with Szymon Goldberg; the violin sonatas of Debussy and Franck with Kyung Wha Chung; and various works by Schubert for violin and piano with Goldberg.