"Radu Lupu Doesn't Speak," a book that contains the music, thoughts, and human side of the "silent pianist" Radu Lupu, who refused any interviews or recordings and retired in June 2019, passed away in April 2022, has been published.
The vivid testimonies of 20 musicians, tuners, managers, and writers who interacted with Lupu and made music with him, including Schiff, Barenboim, Kyung-wha Chung, Seong-jin Cho, Welsermöst, Maisky, Kepeleck, Bavouzet, Görner, Cassar, and Isserlis, provide a multifaceted portrait of Radu Lupu, the “musician’s musician.”
This book contains untold stories about Radu Lupu, who was “music itself,” such as the story of Seong-Jin Cho, who was depressed from the tension of the Chopin Competition, being moved by a phone call of support from Lupu; the story of the Cleveland Orchestra members gathered in the waiting room during the intermission of a Beethoven piano concerto concerto and crying with emotion; and the story of Lupu moving another piano from downstairs to play with John Ogden after hearing him play at a party in Moscow.
This is a unique and valuable book about the 'mysterious pianist' Radu Lupu, who rarely revealed himself.

“I want to publish a book about you in Japan.
“Can you give me permission?” The artist who has stubbornly refused interviews for a long time, stopped recording long ago, and even refused to allow broadcast recordings, is an artist who values ​​his privacy to the extreme. That artist is Lupu.
I thought the answer would be 'no'.
“Dear Chikako, of course I won’t say anything, but if you want to, I’ll leave it to you.
“I hope you have good results.”
--- p.5

You yourself are well aware that you are far more than just a pianist.
You play and think like a composer, understanding the form and structure of a piece, grasping the hierarchy of its major components, and handling even the smallest details without hesitation.
Some of the greatest conductors have that ability, but luckily you never had to conduct.
Just by extending both hands, the piano transformed into an orchestra with countless tones and resonances.
- András Schiff, pianist
--- p.37

One day, Radu and Daniel Barenboim were playing a game of guessing the song.
It was a game where you had to guess the title of a song by listening to only the first chord or first note of the song.
I found it hard to believe that someone could guess what a song was based on just one note. - Mischa Maisky, pianist
--- p.44

“I told you it (the variations) doesn’t like me very much!” In other words, he didn’t say, “I don’t like that piece,” but rather, “that piece doesn’t like me.”
This is in line with a passage from Neuhaus's book, The Art of Piano Playing.
When a student loudly declared that he was sick of Beethoven's Appassionata Sonata, Neuhaus countered:
“It’s not you who’s sick of it, it’s the work!” It’s unclear whether Radu knew this, but he probably did.
In any case, the ethics of these two great artists are clearly in agreement.
-Boris Petrushansky, pianist
--- p.60

The first few notes were played by a then unknown Romanian.
That was Radu Lupu.
I will never forget the emotion and admiration that spread through my heart at that moment.
The theme of Haydn's "Andante and Variations" in F minor resonated through the young musician's fingers in a simple, mournful, and gentle way, and its poetry moved my heart.
- Anne Kepeleck, pianist
--- p.62~64

One day, Christopher called Radu and me to Decca's studio.
Christopher sat in the middle of the studio and pressed play, and it was that Debussy and Franck recording from three years ago.
We sat quietly for a while and started listening.
I concentrated silently, and Radu was also silent.
After two or three minutes of silence, Christopher spoke.
“Radu, what do you think?” “Well, if Mizu Jeong is okay with it, then I’m fine with it.” Then he asked me.
“What do you think, Kyunghwa?” “If Mr. Lupu likes it, then I like it too,” Christopher said with a smile.
“Okay, then let’s release it!” That’s how this recording came to be in the world.
- Jeong Kyung-wha, violinist
--- p.68~69

Radu paid all the expenses for the recording sessions to Decca and bought the rights.
The piece I remember is the D.850 sonata and the other one is a middle period sonata.
In the end, the recording never saw the light of day.
Even though the excellent recording tape was completed and completely ready for release, Radu never changed his mind.
- Didier Decotini, artistic director from the Decca label
--- p.72

When Radu arrived at the office, he hugged all the employees, then came up to the second floor where I was and greeted me with the words, “Have you ever heard this joke?”
When Radu arrived, the receptionist would call us over the phone, and my colleague and I would say, “It’ll take a while to get to the second floor.”
Anyway, he was loved by all the employees.
Radu treated everyone with the same amount of sincerity and time, regardless of whether they were part-time secretaries, managers, or the president.
Everyone respected him, and even those who weren't on staff would go to his concerts.
- Jessica Nasmith, UK Country Manager
--- p.78

Radu's performance brought a light to the piece that I had never seen before.
From the introduction of the song, I was overwhelmed by its technique.
And above all, the part where the first theme returns… …all the great pianists, including Rubinstein, play that part like this: ‘Tan tan ttara ran.’
But Radu's playing style was different from anyone else's.
- Luke Guthrie, pianist
--- p.93

The next morning, we received a call from Lincoln Center to our office.
After hearing from the person who bought the ticket that Radu was canceling the concert, they posted a notice of the cancellation at the ticket booth on the day and have just started the process of refunding the tickets.
The situation was finally resolved when Abe, who was startled, desperately explained that the concert would go on as scheduled.
This is a story that made all the managers burst into laughter.
This is happening because it's Radu.
- Jenny Vogel, Americas Manager
--- p.96

He often said that he found microphones burdensome because a performance 'recorded' by a microphone cannot be changed.
I was also concerned that I might not like the piano I was using.
I had no idea it would take me several days to perform something I could be proud of.
If it's a concert, once the main performance is over, that's it.
Ultimately, he wanted to make the recordings top-notch.
- Helen Turner, UK Country Manager
--- p.99

The reason Radu is able to build an intimate relationship with each and every one of his listeners is because he doesn't think about the listener.
It may sound paradoxical, but it really is.
When you're focused on the music, you usually forget about the audience.
He approaches the audience without being conscious of them and brings them onto the stage.
By doing so, it gives the feeling that I am playing just for you.
- Daniel Barenboim, conductor and pianist
--- p.102~104

It was just like magic.
The New York audience usually coughs during his performances, but not once after he plays his first note.
I remember being speechless after this magical performance.
I was truly touched.
Radu and I rode the elevator together to the waiting room, and Radu, leaning against the wall of the elevator, told me that it was a really enjoyable performance.
It was the last song of the first half of the performance, and during the intermission, all the orchestra members came to the waiting room.
After the performance, everyone was crying.
It was truly a unique moment.
- Franz Welsermöst, conductor
--- p.112

When I enter a concert hall to hear Radu Lupu play, after a few minutes the distance between him on stage and me in the audience disappears.
He immediately draws me into a bubble of silence, like a magician.
And in the song he plays that day, he tells me, in a small voice, the scenery of his inner world that he vaguely witnessed.
- Philippe Cassard, pianist
--- p.115

Zoltan Kochish, who was my close friend, admired Radu the most.
Their music is fundamentally different.
Kochishu plays every note at 200 percent with energy and intensity that grabs the listener's attention.
In Radu's case, that doesn't happen.
As he himself said, it is a performance that 'does not expect anything and lets the music play itself.'
The audience is drawn to where he is and immersed in his musical world.
Radu never grabs you by the scruff of the neck.
- Jean-Flam Babouzet, pianist
--- p.124

Radu's touch is a mystery.
It's really fascinating how his playing sounds so different from other pianists.
Many pianists ask me, 'Can you make a sound like Radu?'
(…) Even if I spent two months preparing for a piano, no one could make a sound like Radu.
That's not the sound of the piano, it's the sound of Radu Lupu.
- Michel Branges, piano tuner
--- p.132

My friends in Moscow said that they thought Radu would become a conductor rather than a pianist.
I once asked Radu why he chose the piano.
“Well… I played it first.
And then it worked out well.
“I don’t know why.” Come to think of it, Radu always conducts when he listens to music.
- Rusudan Goerner, pianist
--- p.142

I once asked about Schubert's sonatas.
When asked which sonata was the most difficult, he answered that it was the later Sonata No. 19 in C minor.
The most difficult piece for me is the last Sonata No. 21 in B flat major.
But Radu said that the song was easier than the C minor one.
This B-flat major sonata is a very special piece to me, and if I could hear just one piece of music before I die, I would like to hear it played by Radu.
His agogic is special.
It always flows like water without any sharp edges.
It's amazing how slowly he plays.
If you try to play it in a flowing manner, you will most likely end up playing at a fast tempo so that the music does not break.
But Radu can maintain the flow while playing at a leisurely tempo.
- Seong-jin Cho, pianist
--- p.151

One of Radu's finest performances was the one he gave in London.
This was his first time on stage at Wigmore Hall in about 15 years.
He suddenly appeared as a substitute at a gala concert and played Schubert's Sonata No. 21 in B-flat major, D.960.
Anyone lucky enough to see this performance will never forget his performance.
It was a clear revelation.
From the time the first note resonates until the last note dies down, we have traveled from heaven to hell and back again.
When the song ended, it felt like I had returned from another world.
- Steven Isserlis, cellist
--- p.156

Radu, who played the instrument, was an angel himself.
A gentle angel was saying his final goodbyes.
Everything was so natural and so simple.
It was a rare, ideal performance that made me feel like this is how Mozart should be played.
And at the end, one more touching moment awaited us.
This is Brahms, who played as an encore.
And the curtain fell.
Without any of the usual announcements or fanfare, Radu retired.
- Steven Isserlis, cellist
--- p.165~166

I was so impressed by Radu's performance that I couldn't even imagine, and then I was just dumbfounded and shocked.
I've never heard a performance like that before.
Radu was, of course, an outstanding pianist with a beautiful sound and impressive dynamic range.
But that's not the point.
Radu's performance is lyrical, full of joy, and at the same time tragic, giving the impression of a genuine, passionate exchange with Schubert's private world, a true experience of the process of music creation from its very source.
(…) I was speechless at that time and could not convey to Radu any of the emotions I felt.
I became a lifelong fan in an instant. - Elizabeth Wilson, author and Lupu's first wife
--- p.179~180

Perhaps Radu Lupu imagined himself not as a pianist or a musician, but as music itself.
I can't shake that thought.
In short, it is the incarnation of music and music as an incarnation.
In that sense, Lupu was music itself.
A musician who has not made a name for himself through music, but who is the home where music resides, the place where music resides while it remains in this world.
At least at some point during the concert, Lupu was there.
- Takaakira Aosawa, columnist

--- p.237