RADU LUPU
The Unreleased Recordings
Decca Masters and Radio Tapes 1970 – 2002
Released on 28 November 2025
A unique tribute in honour of what would have been the great pianist’s 80th birthday on 30 November 2025
Sanctioned by his estate and presented as a 6-CD box-set, Radu Lupu – The Unreleased Recordings is made up entirely of repertoire not otherwise recorded by Lupu and is released to mark what would have been the pianist’s 80th birthday this November.
With bespoke jackets for each disc and digital album, the recordings in this set span more than 30 years; the earliest (Chopin) in the city of Leeds in 1970, the most recent (Debussy) given as an encore at a concert in Germany in 2002. The broadcast recordings are given their first official release and have all been painstakingly remastered.
Two previously unpublished Decca recordings of somewhat mythical status are included: the Mozart Piano Quartets with the Tel Aviv String Quartet, and Schubert’s Piano Sonatas D.840 and D.850. Some of Lupu’s last studio recordings for Decca comprised music by Schumann. This set affords the opportunity to discover others: the First Piano Sonata, Etudes symphoniques and Faschingsschwank aus Wien. Fascinatingly, the set includes material not readily synonymous with Lupu – Copland’s Piano Sonata and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition.
The booklet includes a note by the renowned piano specialist Jessica Duchen, photographs from the Decca archive (several previously unpublished), as well as tributes from artists and friends who knew and worked with him, including Riccardo Chailly, Stephen Hough, Paavo Järvi, Lang Lang, Zubin Mehta, Murray Perahia, producer Michael Haas and piano entrepreneur Marco Riaskoff.
Romanian pianist Radu Lupu firmly established himself as one of the most important musicians of his generation. His teachers included Heinrich Neuhaus, and he won first prize in three competitions: the 1966 Van Cliburn, the 1967 Enescu International, and the 1969 Leeds International.
He commanded a legion of fans and connoisseurs all over the world. His rare appearances in the concert hall were packed with audiences which included top-drawer performers. He was the master of lyricism and could make the piano whisper like no other.
Lupu shunned media attention, his discography is not large, but every recording he made had an aura of spirituality and distinction. Decca is proud to present a unique set of recordings – material that has never before been officially published – ranging from ‘lost tapes’ in the Decca archives to recordings sourced from radio stations around the world.
Radu Lupu – The Unreleased Recordings is a Limited Edition and is released on 28 November 2025.