Radu Lupu, always a "different pianist," is now even more so. Different.
And great.

His San Francisco Performances recital Thursday night in Herbst Theater
was a truly memorable event. At 58, he still has a weird, edgy persona,
but his artistry has matured in a stunning way. .

The varied, if unadventurous, program included a delicate-to-stormy
performance of Debussy's Seven Preludes (from Book I), Schubert's Piano
Sonata in A Major - in a reading that ranged from ethereal to robust -
and a single, short encore, Schubert's Moment Musicale No. 1.

But it was difficult to clear the mind from the overwhelming impact of
the concert-opening Beethoven Sonata No. 30, Opus 109. Here was, in one
work, all of Lupu's "difference" and ultimate, triumphant impact.

The sonata itself presents an unusual juxtaposition of seemingly disparate
element - a far cry from previous clean, simple, "logical" examples of
the genre - but in Lupu's presentation, the first movement unfolded in
an occasionally rough, almost jerky, manner, the pianist thinking the
piece through, phrases emerging from the instrument as if by surprise.

The image that came to me during the first movement and the following
Prestissimo (hesitating, wandering) was Michelangelo's second unfinished
Pieta, part raw marble, part glorious sculpture, the two intertwined,
showing different aspects of the same reality.

In the same way, Lupu combined those "rough" notes, occasional indifferent,
"raw" passages, from which emerged some of the most meaningfully beautiful
phrases I have ever heard in this work. The Andante's theme and variations
were excellent, but here, the performance was more "conventional" than
in the first two movements.

Put together, here was Opus 109 as never heard before, not even from
Lupu.  He was discovering, inventing the music as he performed it. There
should have been a long intermission after it to regain balance. Instead,
Lupu launched into the Debussy almost without pause, cutting the applause
short.  Landscapes, images, evening breezes and snowy peaks went by, the
effortless playing reminding one of Sviatoslav Richter's approach to the
music, but with a kind of tension and startling surprises in dynamics
not heard in other performance or recording. Against the first two works,
the Schubert Sonata was more traditional - and it got the best reception
from the packed hall, at this, a rare completely sold-out concert in
Herbst.

Janos Gereben/SF
www.sfcv.org
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