Lipatti's Generation: A Rediscovery
Lipatti's Generation: A Rediscovery

Summary/Abstract: Between May 26th and June 16th, 1933 the second International Music Competition for Singing and Piano took place in Vienna. Lipatti’s participation at the competition and the subsequent second prize he won there stirred my interest towards the exact circumstances of this event in particular (participants, jury, historical backdrop) and, in general, towards a whole generation of pianists: the famous of the day and the hopeful talents. The ongoing comparisons among them were both usual and effective: Lipatti himself was announced in 1943 as a second Horowitz, who had an established status at the time. How did Lipatti become the legendary musician we are celebrating today? In retrospect, one can notice a fortunate combination of talent, extraordinarily disciplined work and opportunity. In Lipatti’s case, his talent and striving efforts towards musical perfection have always been acknowledged. To illustrate the complex ensemble of events which shaped the course of what would become the Lipatti legend as a while, I set in the following study to explore two episodes of his biography: his participation at the 1933 Vienna International Piano Competition and his Berlin concerts, ten years later.

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