Ioana Lupascu

Biography

Born in Romania in 1977, she started studying the piano at the age of four and she performs for the first time in public when she was six years old. Besides studying and participating in various piano competitions, she performs in recitals-piano solo or chamber music-in different cities from Romania and some, abroad.

In 2000 she graduated the Conservatory of Music in Bucharest, then she continues her studies in Switzerland at Conservatoire du Lausanne -where she took the master in Virtuosity Level – but after 3 month, she moves in Italy, becoming a student of the great pianist Lazar Berman at Accademia Europea di Musica.

After graduating the three years Master in Soloistic Performances, she continues working with Maestro Berman until his death, in February 2005.

The musical meeting with the great pianist helped her enrich her means of expression, her virtuosity, sound, and depth and Maestro Berman defined her “beyond any doubt a soloist with huge tehnical and artistic possibilities.”

In 2005 she moves back in Romania.

Winner, finalist or prize awarded at different national and international piano competitions, among which: “Golden Lyre”

Suceava, “Konzerteum” Greece, “Mihail Jora” Bucharest, the Romanian National Piano Competition, “Ferdi & Lili Statzer” Istanbul Turkey – where she was also awarded with the “Vedat Kosal” Prize and so on so forth. She didn’t feel attracted to competitioning and she started her carreer as a concert piano player.

She performed recitals and concerts in Romania (where she played in front of almost all philharmonic orchestras: Bucharest (Radio National Orchestra and Bucharest Symphonic Pops, National Bucharest Philharmonic, National Opera Bucharest Orchestra), Ploiesti, Bacau, Botosani, Cluj, Craiova, Tg. Mures, Arad, Iasi, Timisoara, Sibiu, Galati , Targoviste, Constanta, Satu Mare), Italy, Croatia, Lithuania, Belgium, Germany, Slovakia, Switzerland, Turkey, Spain, Maldives.

She was invited to various festivals such as Pazailis Music Festival Lithuania, Opera Ball Cluj, The Great Musical Evenings of Bucharest, FIE Iasi, Independent Operas Festival Iasi, International Theatre Festival Sibiu, National Theatre Festival Bucharest, Gloria Domini Festival, Mozart Festival at Brasov Opera and she shared the stage with famous artists and performers.

After a recital in Milan the musical critics reffered to her as “a pianist full of virtyosity”.

In 2007 she played at the Atheneum Hall, Bucharest, at “Proms of Delight” – the Eastern Edition, and she performed at the International Theatre Festival of Sibiu, European Capital of Culture” alongside great personalities. Also in 2007, in the concert that opened the season 2007-2008 she was the first pianist ever to play with newly formed orchestra “Muntenia” Philharmonic Orchestra Targoviste.

She played with conductors such as: J.F. Antonioli, Ramiro Arista, Ovidiu Balan, Matei Corvin, Gheorghe Costin, Valentin Doni, Mika Eichenholz, Dorin Frandes, I. Ionescu-Galati, Marius Hristescu, Walter Hilgers, Pietro-Ladislau Horvath, Mihnea Ignat, Koichi Innoue, A. Iosub, Koichiro Kanno, Stefan Novak, Shinya Ozaki, Radu Postavaru, I.I.Prunner, Sabin Pautza, Matei Pop, Gottfried Rabl, Petre Sbarcea, Tiberiu Soare, Florin Totan, Theo Wolters.

She played together with great violinists such as: Ladislau – Pietro Horvath( Italy), Luminitza Petre and Florin Paul ( Germany), Joseph Rommel.

She played with Cellists Rodin Moldovan (Germany), Mirel Iancovici (The Netherlands) and many others.

Her official debut in Milan takes place in december 2005 for Societa dei Concerti at Conservatorio Verdi and in 2008 she was invited to open the season of Sala Puccini – Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi , Milano.

She played in other great halls such as: Teatro San Babila Milan, Atheneum Hall Bucharest, Radio Hall Bucharest.

Since 2007 she is state soloist, the piano concert soloist of “Paul Constantinescu” Philharmonic Orchestra Ploiesti.

In 2005, after the recital dedicated to the music of the Romanian composer, George Enescu, at the Festival “Romania: Traditional and Artistical Values” that is kept every year in Milan, she became Member of Honour of the “A.R.I.” (Associazione dei Rumeni in Italia) Milan.

In 2007 she releases theCD – “Live Piano Solo”( Ed. Libris ) – with works by Bach-Busoni, Liszt, Rachmaninov, Silvestri Mendelssohn-Bartholdy and in 2009 “Piano Recital “ (Ed. Casa Radio) with works by Scarlatti, Chopin, Liszt, Schubert, Skriabin, Rachmaninov, Bartok and in 2019 “Piano Promenade” by Ed Libris with works by Ceaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Mussorgsky, Guy Bacos, Bach-Silotti and in 2022 a CD with piano sacred music with works by Bach, Vivaldi, Caccini, Liszt, Marcello called Cuvant bun raspuns-a inima mea.

Being interested to open to new repertories, she plays contemporary composers such as: Paolo Campanini, Guy Bacos, Ioan Dobrinescu, Deniz Inan , Samer Hatoum, Saeed Sharifian, Luca Tieppo, Fazil Say, Luca Moscardi and less played concerts such as Liszt- Concerto Pathetique for pianoforte and orchestra and Addinsell- Warsaw Concerto.

She often was asked to perform the premiere of a musical composition and there are many compositions dedicated to her.

In 2011 she starts music – poetry shows with actress Daniela Nane.

In 2017 she opens a serie of concerts as artst in residence at Bucharest Comic Opera describing the seasons, called “Harmonies of…”.

Also in 2017 she is invited by Gaudeamus Quarttet to celebrate on stage their 30 years of activity anniversary.

In december 2012 she is invited together with violonists Romel & Victoria JOSEPH to perform for the International Human Rights Day in United Nations Palace in Geneva, followed by other performance in Paris.

On 1st December 2016 for National Romania Day she performs at Sibiu Philharmonic a concert attended by Romanian Royal Family, Bulgarian Royal Family and Belgium Royal Family.

In 2018 and 2019 she is invited by the National Opera Bucharest to play as concert piano soloist.

In 2020 she graduates her PHd with SUMMA CUM LAUDE.

She composed and interpreted music and signed the soundtrack for documentaries broadcasted at Digi World Channel and Discovery Channel.

Besides music, her wide ranging interests include literature, and so, for three years, while living in Italy she had been a correspondent journalist from abroad to a Romanian daily magazine, “Monitorul”.

In 2008 she releases her first non-fiction novel “Printul Baghetei”

(Ed. Meteor Press) and since 2009 she publishes cultural or musical articles for different national publications, from which the most important: Q Magazine (from 2021).

The press called her “a force of the new generation”, or “her spiritual universe is launching calls like a mythical syrene”, “avalanche of pathetic eloquence”, “the intensity of life that she knows to play is the secret of her superior level of art construction” , “excellent pianist and a craftsman who can bring the highs of a music to its best”, “she has perfect control of sound and she posses the inner power of playing with her bare soul on the keybords”, “magnifica da cappo al fine”.

Bucharest, 2022