In October of 1981, Licia Lucas successfully toured the former Soviet Union under the auspices of Gosconcert.

Licia Lucas at the Glazunov Concert Hall of the St. Petersburg Conservatory

In this very same St. Petersburg Conservatory- founded by Anton Rubinstein in 1862 and the first official music schol in Russia- Tchaikovsky, then 22 years old of age – began his musical studies, which lasted until he graduated in 1865.

The Glazunov Concert Hall is considered one of the finest in Europe, and many great artists have performed on its stage, such as Casals, Rachmaninoff, Glen Gould, Menuhin.

Licia Lucas recorded in May of 2003 the Tchaikovsky piano concerto No. 1 in B-Flat minor, Op. 23 and the Grieg piano concerto in A minor, Op. 16, with the Saint Petersburg Symphony Orchestra of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia led by the Russian conductor Alexander Sladkovsky, which were recorded in the Glazunov Hall at the historic Saint Petersburg State Conservatory.

At the time she was recording the Tchaikovsky and Grieg concertos, Licia Lucas was accommodated across the street from the Pushkin Museum, and, in the afternoons, rehearsed on the Steinway pianos of the legendary Imperial Kapelle. During the White Night of May 16, 2003, as fireworks commemorated the 300 th anniversary of the city and illuminated the Mariinski Theater (Kirov) and the Glazunov Concert Hall of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, Licia Lucas was playing the last chords of the concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor (Op. 23) of Tchaikovsky.

Licia Lucas at the Tchaikovsky Grand Hall in Moscow

The magazine Latin America, in an article signed by Natalia Constantinova, said: “ In the solemn inauguration ceremony at the Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, there appeared a charming woman, as modest as she was elegant. As soon as her fingers touched the first chords, the audience sensed the presence of a brilliant pianist capable of being compared with the foremost pianist anywhere in the world. The spell cast by this magnificent performance was only broken by the thunderous applause that followed.”

LICIA LUCAS AT THE GRAND HALL OF THE SAINT PETERSBURG PHILHARMONIC
(June 17, 2004)

Licia Lucas at the Grand Hall of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic

The Philharmonic Society of St. Petersburg, the oldest society of its kind in Russia, and the first in Europe, was founded in 1802. One of the most important moments in its history was the world-wide première of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis in 1824. Nowadays the concerts of the Society are held in the Grand Hall of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, formerly the Palace of Nobles at Mikhailovskaya Ul., No. 2, a few meters from Nevsky Prospekt and the Russian Museum.
The Grand Hall was constructed in 1839 by P. Jacquot and designed by C. Rossi for the Assembly of Nobles of St. Petersburg. It has long been considered the center of music in Russia.
It has always been an honor and a sign of prestige as well as being a great responsability for a great artist to perform in this famous “Temple of Music” to use the words of Van Cliburn in describing his emotion on being “on the same stage where Arthur Friedheim, Anton Rubinstein, and the great Liszt once performed.”
Other great artists have also appeared here, such as Clara Schumann, H. Berlioz, R.Wagner, G. Mahler, C. Debussy, and P. Sarasate. This same Hall has also witnessed many great conductors, among whom one can cite E. Mravinsky, Y. Termirkanov, O. Klemperer, B. Walter, E. Ansermet, E. Kleiber, and L. Stowkovsky. One can also mention virtuosi like A. Cortot, A. Schnabel, Artur Rubinstein, S. Richter, E. Gilels, A.B. Michelangeli, G. Gould, Y. Menuhin, and M. Rostropovich. Tchaikovsky, himself, conducted the première of his own Sixth Symphony (The Pathetique) in the Grand Hall in October of 1893.
The name of the Brazilian pianist Licia Lucas became part of this select group as she received a long ovation from the public assembled to hear her interpret the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3 and the Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2 with Gustavo Plis Sterenberg and the St. Petersburg Academic Symphonic Orchestra on the evening of June 17, 2004, in this legendary concert hall.
We are proud to present in the CD the same two compositions recorded by the same artists and orchestra on the stage of the Grand Hall, home of the Orchestra, between the 15 th and 18 th of June, 2004.

LICIA LUCAS AND THE MOSCOW RADIO AND TELEVISION SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA (October 2011)

Licia Lucas at the Moscow Radio and Television Studio, recording Rachmaninoff

In October of 2011, Licia Lucas returned to Russia as soloist invited by the Moscow Radio&TV Symphony Orchestra, recording Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto Nº2 and the Rhapsody on a Theme of  Paganini, led by the Russian conductor Alexander Soloviev, which were recorded in the Moscow Radio&TV Studio.