so i’ve listened to lupu a number of times over the years, and never heard anything that really made me think he was one of the greats… maybe it’s just a stylistic thing. Unlike a lot of other pianists, I certainly don’t tend to hear anything that made me hate him either, it just seemed all agreeable and unremarkable.
But I just listened to the Liszt sonata upload by one of our own, and I have to say it’s really really beautiful playing. Certainly the thing I’ve liked the most by Lupu. There is really a lot of creativity here in the interpretation; so much, in fact, in some parts, that I bet if you put ‘Pogorelich’ on the video title people would be bitching about how it’s a distortion of Liszt’s music etc… but that’s whinging for another day.
I’d love to hear all your suggestions on Lupu – maybe this recording finally ‘hitting me’ makes me want to give his best recordings another listen. Or maybe the key is to listen to live rather than studio stuff? Anyways, suggestions appreciated!
