Classical The Piano Files
Dinu Lipatti: The Hunt for Lost Recordings Part 1

This second podcast about Dinu Lipatti features Piano Files host Mark Ainley discussing the search for unofficial recordings that began when the legendary Romanian pianist died prematurely at the age of 33 on December 2, 1950. Because the greatly respected artist had made only three and a half hours of highly-praised solo recordings before his early death, his widow and his recording producer both dedicated significant energy to locating and releasing concert recordings to increase the scope of the master musician's discography.

This episode relates details about each of the unofficial recordings of the pianist to be released from the time of his death through to the 1970s. A second episode will explore the work done by host Mark Ainley from the time he began his research in the 1980s through to the present time.

A couple of corrected notes

• The British sleeve of the 1971 release of the Chopin Concerto - a recording which was actually not by Lipatti but which was believed to be at the time - did not, as I stated in the podcast, give the specifics that Madeleine Lipatti and Ernest Ansermet had stated categorically that the pianist was Lipatti - these details were only given once the recording was later found to have been erroneously attributed to Lipatti. However, the notes did indicate that they had been unable to ascertain the conductor and orchestra in the recording. (Full story in the podcast episode.) The actual note on the sleeve reads:

'This recording includes a performance by Dinu Lipatti of Chopin's Piano Concerto No.1. It comes from a tape, which EMI acquired, made at a concert in Switzerland in May, 1948. Although there is no question that the performance is by Dinu Lipatti, extensive enquiries have failed to establish the name of the conductor and orchestra. However, this particuilar performance has not been published in the UK before now and is therefore a musical document of rare value.'

• The Bach-Busoni Concerto was released by 1972, not 1973 - I was unable to locate the letter written by Jessett to Legge about the released disc until after I had recorded the podcast, and it was dated 1972, not 1973 as I had remembered.

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