For most of his career, Lupu has regularly refused to grant interviews to the press out of "fear of being misunderstood or misquoted". His aversion to the press and publicity has prompted them to label him as "the reclusive Radu Lupu", with "The Independent" referring to him as a "woolly recluse" and "like someone dragged unwillingly into the concert hall but asked to leave his begging-bowl outside." In addition, Lupu usually does not allow radio broadcasts of his performances. In 1994, "Chicago Tribune" noted that Lupu's press kit then contained one single interview he granted to the "Clavier" magazine in 1981. Other published interviews include a "conversation" that Lupu granted to "Clavier" in 1992 and an interview from 1975 that was aired on BBC Radio 3.