There are more than a few people in Portland’s musical scene who have had close ties to violinist Sergiu Luca, who formed two festivals in Oregon (including Chamber Music Northwest) and taught over the past years at Rice University in Houston, Texas. When word came that he’d passed away Monday, I sought out a few of them and asked (since I never had the pleasure of meeting or hearing Sergiu in person) what made him so special to them. Here are the replies that I’ve gotten, to date.
Gregory Ewer – violinist, Oregon Symphony; professor at Lewis and Clark College:
I’ll never forget a concert back in the late 90’s in which Sergiu Luca and Brian Connelly were supposed to play a program of chamber music. The day of the concert Brian injured his hand and was unable to perform. Sergiu, completely unfazed, decided he would play all three of Bach’s unaccompanied Partitas for solo violin. These are among the most demanding works in the literature. Performing just one of them in an evening is enough of a challenge for most violinists. But Sergiu simply had them in his back pocket, and gave the most dazzling and convincing performance of Bach that I have ever witnessed…period. It is not difficult to understand why William Primrose, arguably the greatest violist of the twentieth century, considered Sergiu’s Bach recordings to be the most interesting and artistically satisfying he had ever heard.
On a more personal note, I spoke with Sergiu a little over a month ago, just before the final, very private month of his life. He was always interested in knowing what was going on with his students, so I told him about 45th Parallel, the chamber music series I recently started in Portland. A few days after that conversation, I received an email from him, asking for information on how to make a contribution. After it arrived I called again to thank him, and listened as he gave me some advise about running a chamber music series, something he obviously knew a lot about. It would turn out to be our last lesson.
Dorien de León – cellist, professor at Lewis and Clark College:
It is difficult to describe Sergiu’s influence on the music world because the ripple effect has grown so wide over the years. But I think this story about him will give a good sense of his modus operandi. He was just as demanding about the quality and preparation of the food he ate (he always bragged he had never eaten at a McDonald’s) as he was about the quality of the performances he gave. When we were touring Italy in 1986 (he was music director of the Texas Chamber Orchestra at the time), we would never just stop at the most convenient highway rest stop for a quick meal on the way to the next venue; he would insist that we drive as much as 30 to 40 minutes out of the way to find a small town with a great ristorante or trattoria – contracts and itineraries be damned! But this was classic Sergiu; he didn’t care about the problems created by his demands, only that his demands were met. And this relentless push made everyone working with him – performers, directors, staffs, boards and students – rise to levels of excellence they had not realized were possible.
Linda Magee – executive director, Chamber Music Northwest:
My first year at Chamber Music Northwest, as the new executive director, was Sergiu’s final year. It was 1980, and he’d planned a wonderful 10th season for the festival out at its home in the Commons dining hall at Reed College. I’ll never forget our first meeting, when he came to town and we got acquainted, knowing that we would be CMNW colleagues for just a few months. (Lunch at Uncle Chen’s – of course! – followed by getting together with his chum Jaime Laredo at the Imperial Hotel, where Laredo was staying.)
Even though his decade at CMNW ended that July, he and I stayed in contact over the years. I looked to him as a mentor and resource, and he was always generous and wonderful to me. The best time ever was spending a December day out at his house in Cascade Head with my husband and his wife, Markie. (We even took our parrot Sparky along!) The four of us took a long nature walk and saw a herd of elk, then came back to hang out in the kitchen watching Sergiu cook a fabulous Chinese feast, with tons of garlic, and plenty of red wine for all.
With Sergiu’s death, we have lost a bigger-than-life friend, and a major musical personality. What I’ll remember most about him is his entrepreneurship, his enthusiasm for things, and the camaraderie he created wherever he went.
Do you have unique perspectives and memories of Sergiu? Please send them to me via email via this link, and I’ll be sure to add them to this page.