Dinu Lipatti's Last Recital: Besançon, September 16, 1950

A transfer of the legendary 2-LP set of the great Romanian pianist Dinu Lipatti's final public concert appearance, at the third International Besançon Festival, on September 16, 1950. The pianist was extremely ill with Hodgkin's Disease at the time, and came very close to cancelling the concert but insisted on playing. He was receiving injections in a room off the side of the stage between works and managed to get through most of the recital, but he was unable to play the last of the 14 Chopin Waltzes he had programmed. He died two and a half months later.
After the first publication of the 2 Schubert Impromptus from this recital in a 5-disc Columbia set (FCX 491-495) issued in 1955 for the 5th anniversary of the pianist's death, the recital was issued in the US on EMI’s Angel label (Angel 3556 B) and on French Columbia (33FCX 698-699) in early 1957. The international branches of EMI were reluctant to issue the live performance, which largely featured repertoire already recorded in the studio by Lipatti in better sound, but the set was so critically acclaimed - it was the cover feature of the 27 April 1957 issue of the Saturday Review magazine in the US - that it was soon after released internationally on EMI (33CX 1499-1500) and has been lauded as one of the most important classical recordings ever issued.
Missing from the records was Lipatti’s failed attempt at beginning the last Waltz he had programmed and the Bach he played afterwards. It has now come to light that Lipatti may have played as many as three Bach encores: the Bach-Hess ‘Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring’, the Bach-Kempff ‘Siciliano’, and one of his own arrangements, likely the Malinconico from a Pastorale he had recently transcribed. Testimonials by surviving attendees of the concert as to the number of encores have been inconsistent, but a contemporary newspaper account speaks of three Bach encores. The recital was not transmitted live because of fears around Lipatti’s health so it is unclear if that part of the performance was ever broadcast and if a recording exists.
There is surviving unissued audio from the recital that includes Lipatti’s exquisitely beautiful ‘preluding’ arpeggios to the Schubert and Chopin, which are not included on the records (for unknown reasons, given that the applause and preluding before the Bach and Mozart were released), as well as extra moments of applause and ambient noise. Unfortunately, most CD reissues of the recital have left out the preluding found on the LP and some applause. The performance as issued here is what was found on the original 1957 LP set.
The program:
Bach: Partita No.1 in B-Flat Major, BWV 825
Mozart: Piano Sonata No.8 in A Minor, K 310
Schubert: Two Impromptus D.899
- No.3 in G-Flat Major
- No.2 in E-Flat Major
Chopin: 13 Waltzes
- No.5 in A-Flat Major Op.42
- No.6 in D-Flat Major Op.64 No.1
- No.9 in A Major Op.69 No.1
- No.7 in C-Sharp Minor Op.64 No.2
- No.11 in G-Flat Op.70 No.1
- No.10 in B Minor Op.69 No.2
- No.14 in E Minor Op.Posth
- No.3 in A Minor Op.34 No.2
- No.4 in F Major Op.34 No.3
- No.12 in F Minor Op.70 No.2
- No.13 in D-Flat Major Op.70 No.3
- No.8 in A-Flat Major Op.64 No.3
- No.1 in E-Flat Op.18
It is worth noting that the order of the waltzes here is different than that of the commercial 78s and LPs, though both that version and this live performance are not in chronological order but another sequence of Lipatti's choosing. The pianist stated that because Chopin's Waltzes were not written as a set but rather over an extended period of time, when playing them together it made more sense to present them in a different order. The sequence on the commercial recording was most likely impacted by the length of the original 78rpm records, whereas there would have been no such constraints in this concert performance.
The images shown in the video are:
Bach - the concert program of Lipatti's recital, as reproduced in the original LP set
Mozart - a picture taken the morning of the recital as Lipatti rehearsed in the Salle de Parliament
Schubert and Chopin - two images that local photographer Michel Meusy had taken of Lipatti during the course of the recital.
Lipatti plays a Gaveau piano in this recital
If you wish to support The Piano Files, please consider membership at my Patreon page: / thepianofiles

[@valfriesen4861]

73 years ago today! Thank you, Dinu Lipatti, and thank you so much for this, Mark!

[@philippeboehler]

Beaucoup d'émotions pour ma femme Françoise Tranier ,ép.Boehler qui a assisté à ce dernier concert à Besançon.

[@lstoica2007]

We thank you for this superb last records of the great Romanian pianist Dinu Lipatti! His music will live on. May he rest in Heaven!

[@lorenzopone869]

This interpretation is 72 years old, and it’s so fresh, so new, so young and full of life. Pure gold, as Walter Legge used to say.

[@cstr10]

Magnificent! Thank you for not forgetting this exquisite romanian artist!

[@user-ij6lc5ce1y]

Que de souvenirs bouleversants ! Quel être de lumière dont l’âme si belle transparaît dans chacune de ses notes d’un piano totalement transcendé !

[@otilia1246]

Une surprise très, très agréable. Maintenant, je l'entends ce fantastique, pleine ,, Last Recital" - Dinu Lipatti. Je suis triste et heureux en même temps. Merci pour ce post.

[@dompapon3167]

Je lis votre échange au sujet d'enregistrements de Dinu Lipatti et peux vous affirmer que tout, absolument tout a été exploré sous le contrôle de Madeleine Lipatti jusqu'à son décès.( 27.7.1983). Nous avons eu si souvent des espoirs déçus. Il faut se rappeler que Lipatti est mort en 1950 et qu'à l'époque il n'y avait que les radios et firmes de disques qui possédaient des enregistreurs. Mon père, Henri Dubois-Ferrière, avait acheté un des premiers Revox en Europe, début 1950 et les enregistrements qu'il avait fait de Dinu Lipatti chez nous, à la maison - sur le Bösendorfer que Lipatti aimait beaucoup- étaient de mauvaise qualité. Il les a détruits à l'arrivée des longplaying de Colombia.Début 2017, nous préparons un concert en faveur de la fondation DFDL pour marquer le centième anniversaire de la la naissance de Lipatti. Orchestre de la Suisse Romande et Nelson Freire.

[@RicardoBonet]

00:00 - Bach: Partita N.1, BWV 825 16:47 - Mozart: Piano Sonata N.8, K 310 - Schubert: Dos Impromptus D.899 32:16 * N.3 37:12 * N.2 41:20 - Chopin: 13 Valses * Nº 5 Op.42 * Nº 6 Op.64 nº 1 * Nº 9 Op.69 nº 1 * Nº 7 Op.64 nº 2 * Nº 11 Op.70 nº 1 * Nº 10 Op.69 nº 2 * Nº 14 Op.Post * Nº 3 Op.34 nº 2 * Nº 4 Op.34 nº 3 * Nº 12 Op.70 nº 2 * Nº 13 Op.70 nº 3 * Nº 8 Op.64 nº 3 * Nº 1 Op.18

[@ThePianoFiles]

Thank you!

[@uwentte]

1:27

[@uwentte]

0:41

[@uwentte]

1:39

[@uwentte]

10:43

[@snaaptaker]

A true classic from a truly great artist.

[@kunikpiano]

Mesmerizing!

[@cstr10]

Mille mercis pour tout ce que vous faites pour la mémoire de Dinu Lipatti. Félicitations à Dominique pour tout son extraordinaire travail à la fondation dfdl!

[@dompapon3167]

Merci . Comment êtes-vous au courant?

[@Shako73]

Vraiment LE meilleur pianiste interprète enregistré, suit la partition telle qu'écrite à 100%. Un maître incontestable du clavier. Je trouve ses interprétations de Bach supérieures à celles de Glenn Gould et que dire des valses de Chopin qui ne tombent jamais dans une fantaisie ringarde !

[@MegaDivertisment]

minunat! ...de ce oare nu se mai naste un Dinu Lipatti si in zilele noastre?...

[@tjittekamminga5170]

Sublime et Chapeau. Et alors, Requiescat in Pace

[@carmenmariaturea6255]

Great artist ,thanks

[@MrGer2295]

Beautiful ! Thank you so much :)

[@DavidMillsom]

I have the 2-LP set on Angle which I bought during the 1960's. It has the introductory arpeggios. Unfortunately it also comes with a slight background hum which I assume is a legacy of the recording process. These are two of my most treasured records and I am always struck by the seeming effortlessness of his playing.

[@ThePianoFiles]

The Angel set has the arpeggios before the Bach and Mozart but not before the Schubert and Chopin; those were released for the first time on a Solstice CD, along with the spoken radio announcements - I wrote the booklet notes for that set: www.solstice-music.com/en/album/lipatti-the-last-recital That hum is indeed annoying and the sound on this Solstice CD is infinitely better - the first time the master broadcast tape has been directly remastered since that Angel set!

[@DavidMillsom]

@@ThePianoFiles Yes. It has arpeggios for Bach and Mozart only. Thanks for the pointer, I have just ordered these and am keenly looking forward to hearing them.

[@ntarrexs9478]

С.Т.Рихтер ставил исполнение Д.Липатти Партиты В выше гульдовского, хотя сам эту вещь не играл

[@anastasiajohnston]

Липатти- Человек, Гульд- Нечеловек😊

[@suremate]

The master of the Bach-Hess might be lost but the recording itself exists in the INA archives as it was played at a tribute concert given on 6 September 1951. From the INA notes : à 6'30 : audition d'un enregistrement de Dinu LIPATTI, exécuté lors du dernier festival de Besançon auquel il a participé le 16 septembre 1950. Il interprète le choral de la cantate de la Visitation BWV 147 "Jesus bleibet meine Freude (Jésus, que ma joie demeure)" de Jean Sébastien BACH (3'22 ; coupé sec sans applaudissements).

[@ThePianoFiles]

@suremate - I thought so too... but in fact at that concert they played the studio recording. We have a recording of the concert, we did side-by-side computer testing, and the recording is 100% the same second by second as his 1947 recording. The way they spoke it sounded like it was the actual audio recording from Besancon but it was not... very disappointing!

[@suremate]

Oh that’s too bad.

[@dompapon3167]

Le couple assis derrière Dinu Lipatti, à droite sur la photo, sont Henri et Gabrièle Dubois-Ferrière.

[@ThePianoFiles]

+Dom Papon Dans la photo entre 17:47 et 32:15, durant la répétition, et non dans les photos prises durant le concert qui suivent, n'est-ce-pas? Merci encore!

[@KKIcons]

Another snipe hunt: the 2 piano performances with Nadia Boulanger in the 30's of Brahms. Now that's something I would like to hear.

[@KKIcons]

It's on YT now, so snipe hunt is over...

[@saltburner2]

@@KKIcons Am I right in thinking that the sides with Nadia Boulanger issued on 78s were all that were ever issued, but that a live performance with singers of the Liebeslieder Walzer also exists?

[@silviosaditesche1556]

Jovem ainda, Dinu Lipatti foi acometido de leucemia, vindo a falecer a 2 de Dezembro de 1952.

[@ThePianoFiles]

I don't know where you get this information of 1952 from... it's very well documented he died in 1950 - of Hodgkin's Disease, not quite leukemia.

[@user-fg3zs8io9r]

Mozart: Piano Sonata N.8, K 310 - 18:11

[@martincook318]

Is there anyware I can get a decent copy on the Columbia Blue and Gold 33CX at a Reasonable Price in Mint Condition? Only the copies I've seen are £250 Price range,which seems a bit steep to Me,and I know that the Record set is very rare and it was such a shame that he died so young at the age of 33

[@user-kf4hn6zx3u]

17:57

[@KKIcons]

Does anyone have the encore to this they can post plz?

[@ThePianoFiles]

+KK Icons No recording has been found - it does not exist in French radio archives and has not been located in any private collections...

[@KKIcons]

Thx, I was afraid of that. i wonder if they checked with Bruno Monsaingeon in Paris.

[@ThePianoFiles]

+KK Icons I'm the one who has been spearheading the lost Lipatti recording hunt and arranged publication of what's been made available in the last 20 years... Didn't know that Mongaingeon would have been a collector to check with but it could certainly be worth touching in. One never knows where things will turn up (as I've discovered!). Fingers crossed!

[@KKIcons]

+The Piano Files Thank you for doing this. I want to get your video when it comes out. Thanks so much for putting the final performance tape on YT. I think it will help my kids in their musical development, and also, I find it very inspiring. I'm writing some illustrated poems about it, with drawings of Dinu. Well, the reason I thought of Bruno was that he made all those documentaries and anthologies about great pianists of the 20th century. You figure if he had the encores, or rare video footage, he would have put this material in his documentary. And I guess the footage is so old it would not have any copyright tangles that would keep him from using it, right?

[@KKIcons]

I wonder if there was a tape somewhere with a salon performance of several pianists performing, where it might not be labeled, but you could recognize him? Or possibly among Russian archives? Did he attend a competition where he could be in the newsreel footage? I'm sure you have thought of things like this already. I think something will turn up somewhere.