lupu was born in galați, romania on 30 november 1945, the son of meyer lupu, an attorney, and ana gabor, a linguist. from his earliest days, lupu "had always expressed himself by singing", and was given his first piano at the age of 5. he began piano studies in 1951, as a six-year-old, with lia busuioceanu. he made his public debut in 1957, at age 12, in a concert featuring his own compositions. he told "the christian science monitor" in 1970 that "from the very beginning i regarded myself as a composer. i was sure, and everybody else was sure, that one day i would become a famous composer". he gave up composing about four years later, saying that he thought he would be "much better as a pianist".