Dinu Lipatti

Constantin "Dinu" Lipatti (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈdinu liˈpati] (listen); 1 April [O.S. 19 March] 1917 – 2 December 1950) was a Romanian classical pianist and composer whose career was cut short by his death from causes related to Hodgkin's disease at age 33. He was elected posthumously to the Romanian Academy. He composed few works, all of which demonstrated a strong influence from Bartok.

A relentless perfectionist, Lipatti often prepared many years for major performances, such as four years for Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 and three for Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1. He left a small amount of recordings, but they are well-regarded, particularly that of Alborada del gracioso from Ravel's Miroirs suite. In his short lifetime he was highly acclaimed by many musical figures of the 20th century, namely Menuhin, Cortot, Boulanger and Poulenc.