A world-class classical cellist who hails from the Sunshine Coast is returning home for a series of concerts – with his 250-year-old instrument.
Sam Lucas will play his rare and beautifully toned circa-1720 Nicolo Gagliano cello – loaned to him by the Robert Schumann Hochschule music academy in Dusseldorf – for concerts at Montville’s Lucas Parklands on March 22 and April 1 and 2.
Lucas Parklands owner Ian Lucas said the concerts scheduled for the venue over the past two summers had been disrupted by fierce electrical storms, which prevented some patrons from attending and impacted Sam’s climate-sensitive cello.
“You think how dry the wood must be in his cello, being over 250 years old – it comes out of a dry winter climate in Europe into a humid summer climate in Australia and suddenly the wood expands, the glue blasts – it’s no one’s fault but it just happens because that’s the way it is,” he said.
“Sam and his cello are very intimate friends, so he instantly notices any changes caused by expansion in the instrument’s timbers.
“This cello is made from a combination of different wood and each piece adapts to the change in climate at a different speed and in a different way. The geometrical tolerances are already minute so in Queensland there are expansion tensions applied to the instrument that aren’t normally there in Europe.”
Sam Lucas, who grew up in Montville but is now based in Germany, will be accompanied by South African pianist Berta Brozgul for the March concert, and then Latvian violin sensation Sophia Kirsanova and acclaimed pianist Daniel Le in April.
Sam and Berta have played together on several occasions, including at Lucas Parklands in 2022.
“The moment I started playing with Sam, we just hit it off immediately,” Ms Brozgul said.
The sentiments were echoed by Sam.
“It’s not always the case when you come across another player that everything just clicks immediately,” he said.
“Music is a language all of its own and if we interpret the music the same way we understand each other immediately, and I think that was the case, so playing with Berta has been a great honour.”
Ian Lucas said the duo would play an intricate and challenging program.
“The two main pieces on the concert program are the Schumann Fantasie pieces for cello and piano – that’s a major work for the two instruments,” he said.
“And, of course, there will be Beethoven’s last cello sonata, Sonata No.5, and it’s also a monumental work.”
The April program has been designed to highlight the cello and violin, with the piano in an accompanying role.
“Mostly we’ll have three instruments on stage, and never less than two – it’ll be great,” Ian Lucas said.
“The repertoire we’re presenting includes Ravel’s Tzigane, a truly virtuosic work – it’s the peak of the violin repertoire with piano that Sofia is playing.”
For performance and ticketing inquiries, phone 54785667 or visit the Lucas Parklands website.
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