Șerban Lupu

Șerban Lupu (June 21, 1952 – August 11, 2023) was a violinist and university professor of Romanian-American descent, known for his research on the lesser-known works of George Enescu. He was regarded as one of the foremost contemporary interpreters of George Enescu's violin compositions.

Education Șerban Lupu was born in Brașov, into an old Romanian family from Transylvania. He was the son of Eugenia Grama and Mircea Aurel Lupu, an engineer who studied in Germany and learned violin from Constantin Bobescu. His father encouraged him to study violin at age 6, later attending the "George Enescu" Music School in Bucharest.

He graduated from the National University of Music Bucharest, studying under Professor George Manoliu. He earned a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where he studied with Yfrah Neaman. He also trained with renowned violinists including Yehudi Menuhin, Nathan Milstein, Henryk Szeryng, and Sandor Végh, as well as Norbert Brainin from the Amadeus String Quartet. After the Romanian Revolution of 1989, he frequently returned to Romania.

He was the artistic director of the "Musical Fortress of Brașov" Festival in Romania and the artistic director of the Gubbio Festival in Italy, as well as an associate concertmaster of the San Francisco Opera.

He performed at the Kennedy Center, Gstaad Festival, Aldeburgh Festival, Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Wigmore Hall, St. Louis Music Hall, and Carnegie Hall. He collaborated with conductors like Mendi Rodan, Cristian Mandeal, Kirk Trevor, and Horia Andreescu. Over time, he specialized in Romanian and Eastern European music, with a focus on promoting Enescu's works. Along with composer Cornel Țăranu, he completed and arranged George Enescu's "Romanian Caprice for Violin and Orchestra."

Recognition He won several international competitions, including the Vienna International, Romanian National String Quartet, Jacques Thibaud in Paris, Carl Flesch in London, Royal Society of Arts, and Park Lane Group Contest.

He received numerous awards for his work promoting Enescu's creations, including the publication of lesser-known works and completion of unfinished compositions based on Enescu's original sketches. In 2000, Șerban Lupu was honored with a lifetime achievement award from the Romanian Cultural Foundation for his efforts in promoting Romanian culture and music internationally.

In May 2002, he was awarded the "Arnold Beckman" Prize by the Research Board of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign for his recordings of Bela Bartók’s complete works for violin and piano.

In November 2002, he was awarded the title of Doctor honoris causa by the Academy of Music "Gheorghe Dima" in Cluj-Napoca, and in January 2004, President of Romania Ion Iliescu awarded him the title of Commander of the National Order of Faithful Service for his international musical and cultural contributions.