The Algarve History Association is organising a cello and piano concert featuring musicians Varoujan Bartikian and Lucjan Luc on Sunday, June 16 at Quintinha da Música, near Tavira, at 5pm.
Armenian cellist Varoujan Bartikian moved to Portugal in 1989, joining the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon. He teaches cello and chamber music at the Lisbon Piaget Institute. In May 2018, Varoujan performed on the 1725 Stradivarius cello belonging to the Museum of Music in Lisbon together with pianist Lucjan Luc.
Polish pianist Lucjan Luc has participated several times as a guest pianist at the Contemporary Music Encounters in the Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon. While with the Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra (1992-1996), he performed throughout Portugal in over 200 chamber music recitals and as accompanist. In 2013, together with English violinist Alexander Stewart and Varoujan Bartikian, he formed Trio Aeternus.
The first piece in this concert is Cello Suite No. 1 (BWV 1007) for solo cello. Bach’s six suites for cello are among his greatest musical achievements. The suites each consist of six movements, a prelude and five dances, and the prelude of Suite No. 1 is probably the best-known movement from the entire set of suites. It is thought that he had composed all six by the time he was 35, still relatively young.
The two Beethoven sets of variations were composed in 1796 and 1801, early in his career, and one was dedicated Princess Christiane von Lichnowsky and the other to Johann von Browne, a half Irish officer in the Russian Imperial service.
The Chopin cello sonata was written in 1846, towards the end of his life, and it was premiered by Chopin himself in the year before he died from a chronic lung condition.
To book, email [email protected] – tickets cost €25 and directions to Quintinha da Música will be sent with the confirmation of booking.
