On December 2nd, it will be 75 years since the premature passing into eternity of Dinu Lipatti, one of the most representative Romanian pianists of all time. In this context, Dinu Lipatti House, located at no. 12 Lascăr Catargiu Boulevard in Bucharest is in danger of being sold at auction and losings its current status as a site of public cultural significane. A campaign to save the Lipatti House is currently underway, initiated by the Grafoart Association and supported by numerous Romanian and international figures.

Among them is Mark Ainley, the researcher who has dedicated over four decades to studying and recovering Lipatti's legacy:

"My name is Mark Ainley, I am a Canadian musicologist and I am internationally recognized as a top expert in pianistic interpretation and history of records. Now, I am writing a column entitled Historical Perspectives for International Piano magazine, published by Gramophone, one of the long-lastingmagazine of classical music in the world."

For over 30 years I've written about DinuLipatti in magazines and publications dedicated to CDs around the world also, I contributed to discover over three hours of lost recordings of the pianist that were in his private collections. In 2016, I was invited to Bucharest by the Romanian Cultural Institute to give presentations of Lipatti, and in 2017, RCI offered me the same invitation to give a presentation in Vienna. Also, I contributed with a chapter in a book about Lipatti published by RCI in 2020.

Starting from this experience, I am writing to you about the plans to sell DinuLipatti's childhood home located at no. 12 Lascăr Catargiu Boulevard in Bucharest.

I understand that, in Romania, there may be the impression that Lipatti's fame does not extend beyond the borders of his native country.

But I guarantee that this thing is far from the truth.

Dinu Lipatti's name was spoken with reverence throughout Europe during his lifetime and internationally since his tragic death in 1950. His few recordings are among the best-selling classical music albums ever produced by the prestigious EMI label and continue to be regarded as "the best" for all the works he recorded-by both specialized critics and professional pianists, as well as music lovers of all levels.

In the 40 years researching historical recordings, I have found that DinuLipatti is most often referred as the greatest pianist by nearly all of today's top professional pianists. His name continues to be mentioned with respect by pianists from North and South America, Europe and Asia.

As you can see in the attached image, in 2017 the British newspaper The Telegraph published an article about Lipattientitled: "Is he the greatest pianist of the XX century?". The answer of the vast majority of today's top famous pianists would be categorically "yes".

Last week, I appeared in a video podcast on YouTube, alongside an American presenter specializing in classical music, discussing Lipatti's legendary recording of Chopin's Waltzes. Within the first 24 hours, the video gathered 8,000 views and dozens of appreciative comments-only a few of which were from Romanians. These comments demonstrate the profound respect the public has for Lipatti's pianistic artistry. In a related episode of the same podcast, American music critic Jed Distler chose Lipatti's Chopin Waltzes as the best ever recorded-an opinion shared by countless other music critics. Lipatti's art knows no boundaries.

It seems deeply unjust to consider the sale and possibly the destruction of Lipatti's childhood home, located in the heart of Bucharest, especially when this legendary musician continues to be so beloved internationally.

It is an extraordinary opportunity to create a tourist destination for the numerous classical music lovers that would visit Bucharest - an initiative all the more feasible given the central location of the property and the short walking distance to the George Enescu National Museum.

Due to the existing petitionsand the shares on international social networks regarding the threat looming over Lipatti's house, there is already significant public awareness about the possible sale and destruction of this beautiful and historically important property, which was once the home of one of Romania's greatest cultural ambassadors. There is no doubt that if this building is not protected, the international music community would consider this a grave injustice committed by the Romanian government against its own cultural heritage.

I sincerely hope that you will consider protecting this immobile from destruction and you will preserve for posterity, creating a space that will continue to honor one of the most respected musicians of 20^th century whose fame continues to spread worldwide, from generation to generation, 75 years after his death.