Constantin "Dinu" Lipatti (; 2 December 1950) was a Romanian classical pianist and composer whose career was cut short by his death from effects related to Hodgkin's disease at age 33. He was elected posthumously to the Romanian Academy. He composed few works, all of which demonstrated a strong influence from Hungarian composer Béla Bartok.

A relentless perfectionist, Lipatti often prepared many years for major performances, such as four years for Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 and three for Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1. He left a small number of recordings, and they are well-regarded, particularly that of Alborada del gracioso from Ravel's Miroirs suite. In his short lifetime he was highly acclaimed by prominent musical figures of the 20th century, including Yehudi Menuhin, Alfred Cortot, Nadia Boulanger, and Francis Poulenc. his mother a pianist. For his baptism, which occurred not shortly after birth as is usual, but when he was old enough to play the piano, the violinist and composer George Enescu agreed to be his godfather. Lipatti played a minuet by Mozart at his own baptism. Lipatti subsequently studied in Paris under Cortot, Nadia Boulanger (with whom he recorded some of Brahms's Waltzes Op. 39), Paul Dukas (composition) and Charles Munch (conducting). At eighteen, Lipatti gave his recital debut in Paris at the École Normale. On 17 May 1935, three days before the concert, his friend and teacher, Paul Dukas, died and in his memory Lipatti opened his program with J. S. Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring in the transcription by Myra Hess, His pupils at the conservatory included Charles Reiner and Béla Síki.

It was while teaching at the Geneva Conservatory in the 1940s that the first signs of Lipatti's illness emerged. At first, doctors were baffled, and in 1947 he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. He and Madeleine married in 1948 as Lipatti's health continued to decline.

Later years and death

thumb|Lipatti's final concert in [[Besançon on 16 September 1950.]]

Lipatti gave his final recital, also recorded, on 16 September 1950 at the Besançon Festival in France. Despite severe illness and a high fever, he gave superb performances of Bach's Partita No. 1 in B-flat major, Mozart's A minor Sonata, K. 310, Schubert's G-flat major and E-flat major Impromptus, Op. 90, and thirteen of the fourteen Chopin Waltzes which he played in his own integral order. Coming to the last one, No. 2 in A-flat, he found he was too exhausted to play it and he offered instead Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, the piece with which he had begun his professional career only fifteen years before. He died less than three months later in Geneva aged 33, from a burst abscess on his one lung.

Harold C. Schonberg wrote in 1953 "Lipatti, a master of the keyboard, would have developed into one of the supreme artists of this era. He was a pianist of the Rachmaninoff order, blessed with an enormous technique and a strong rhythmic sense."

Legacy

thumb|Bust of Dinu Lipatti in the park that bears his name in [[Chêne-Bourg (sculpted by )]]

In recognition of his outstanding contributions to classical music interpretation and composition he was posthumously elected in 1997 as a member of the Romanian Academy. In 2005, The Mountain Goats released a song in his honor, titled "Dinu Lipatti's Bones". In 2017 Lipatti admirer Orlando Murrin discovered the only known film footage of Lipatti, at a Lucerne garden party in 1947 with Paul Hindemith and other musicians, which was screened at London's Cadogan Hall that November.

Lipatti's home at Bulevardul Lascăr Catargiu 10 is part of the Municipal Museum of Bucharest. The municipality named it Casa Artelor Dinu Lipatti in 2017 with a mandate as a cultural center, but later became part of the Municipal Museum under the name Casa Memorială Dinu Lipatti.

Compositions

In addition to his pianistic accomplishments, Lipatti was a composer, who wrote in a neoclassical style with French and Romanian influences. His works include:

  • Les Tziganes, symphonic suite (1934)
  • Concertino in Classical Style, Op. 3 for piano and chamber orchestra (1936)
  • Symphonie concertante for two pianos and string orchestra (1938)
  • Piano Sonatina for the left hand (1941)
  • Danses roumaines for two pianos (1943) and for orchestra (1945)
  • Concerto for organ and piano
  • Aubade for woodwind quartet (fl, ob, cl, bn)
  • Woodwind quintet - Quintet a vent a Monsieur Roger Cortet (unfinished / first part)
  • Improvisation for Piano Trio
  • Sonatina for violin and piano
  • Piano Sonata in D minor
  • Fantasie for piano, Op. 8
  • Nocturne for piano
  • Four songs for voice and piano
  • Six Sonatas of Scarlatti (transcription for woodwind quintet)

Notable recordings

  • February 1937: Brahms, Waltzes, Op. 39, with Nadia Boulanger
  • 14 January 1943: Lipatti, Concertino in Classical Style, with Hans von Benda and the Berlin Chamber Orchestra
  • 4 March 1943: Lipatti, Sonatina for the Left Hand (Romanian Broadcasting)
  • 18 October 1943: Enescu, Piano Sonata No. 3 in D, Op. 24, No. 3
  • 1943: Enescu, Violin Sonata No 2 in F minor, Op. 6 (George Enescu, violin)
  • 1943: Enescu, Violin Sonata No. 3 in A minor, Op. 25 "In Romanian Popular Manner" (Enescu, violin)
  • 1943: Enescu: Bouree from Suite No. 2 in D, Op, 10
  • 20 February 1947: Scarlatti, Sonata in D minor, K.9 "Pastorale"
  • 1 and 4 March 1947: Chopin, Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58
  • 18 and 29 September 1947: Grieg, Piano Concerto in A minor, with Alceo Galliera and the Philharmonia Orchestra
  • 24 September 1947: Liszt, Sonetto del Petrarca no. 104
  • 27 September 1947: Scarlatti: Sonata in E, K.380; Chopin: Nocturne No. 8 in D-flat major, Op. 27, No. 2
  • 2 October 1947: J. S. Bach, Keyboard Concerto No. 1 in D minor, BWV 1052 (arranged by Busoni), with Eduard van Beinum and the Concertgebouw Orchestra
  • 9 and 10 April 1948: Schumann, Piano Concerto in A minor, with Herbert von Karajan and the Philharmonia Orchestra
  • 17 April 1948: Ravel, "Alborada del gracioso" from Miroirs
  • 21 April 1948: Chopin, Barcarole in F-sharp major, Op. 60
  • 30 May 1948: Béla Bartók, Third Piano Concerto, South West German Radio Symphony Orchestra, Baden-Baden Rec. 30 May 1948, in Baden-Baden (Live Recording) Paul Sacher (1906-1999), Conductor
  • c. 1948: Lipatti, Concertino in Classical Style, Op. 3 (live, unidentified conductor and orchestra)
  • 7 February 1950: Chopin, Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11, with Otto Ackermann and the Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich and Chopin, Etudes, Op. 25/5 and Op. 10/5
  • 22 February 1950: Schumann, Piano Concerto in A minor, with Ernest Ansermet and the Suisse Romande Orchestra
  • 5 July 1950: Chopin, Mazurka No. 32 in C-sharp minor, Op. 50, No. 3
  • 6–10 July 1950: Bach, Keyboard Partita No. 1 in B-flat, BWV 825; 4 Bach transcriptions by Ferruccio Busoni, Myra Hess, and Wilhelm Kempff; Mozart, Piano Sonata No. 8 in A minor, K. 310; Chopin, 14 Waltzes (ordered by Lipatti)
  • 23 August 1950: Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 21 in C, K. 467 (Lipatti cadenzas), with Herbert von Karajan and the Orchestre du Festival de Lucerne, in the Kunsthaus, Lucerne, Switzerland.
  • 16 September 1950: Final Recital at Besançon (music of Bach, Mozart, Schubert, and Chopin)

References

Further reading

  • dinulipatti.com, a website dedicated to Lipatti
  • The Lipatti-Haskil Foundation
  • "Lipatti" by Kevin Shihoten
  • Lipatti discography at Youngrok Lee's Music Page
  • "Dinu Lipatti – The Last Recital"
  • "Dinu Lipatti – Prince of Pianists"
  • The Chopin Concerto Scandal
  • Dinu Lipatti (1917–1950)," Mousikotropies 1/1991, 23–31 (in Greek).