You realize that this is not usual. This is not just two good pianists playing together. They sense each other’s most small, individual a little bit of interpretation. Sir Neville Marriner
‘It is like driving a pair of BMWs’, remarked conductor Michael Schønwandt, after directing the Dutch brothers Lucas (25) and Arthur Jussen (21). Despite their young age, they have been part of the international concert world for years and are praised by both the press and audiences.
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The Jussen brothers have performed with orchestras such as The Philadelphia Orchestra, Concertgebouworkest, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, as well as Dallas, Vancouver, Sydney and Shanghai Symphony Orchestras. They collaborated with conductors such as Stéphane Denève, Valery Gergiev, Sir Neville Marriner, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Jaap van Zweden.
As part of the Tanglewood Online Festival in July 2020, the Jussen brothers presented a recital which they pre- recorded at the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam. A tour featuring the Bach double piano concertos with the Amsterdam Sinfonietta, originally planned for April 2020, has been rescheduled for September. Further highlights of the 2020/2021 season include a cycle of Beethoven piano concertos performed with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as concerts with the Dresdner Philharmonie, WDR Sinfonieorchester, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Sinfonieorchester Basel, Tonkünstlerorchester Niederösterreich, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and a tour with the Orchestre National de Lyon.
In recitals, the duo performs in venues such as the Philharmonie Berlin, Laieszhalle Hamburg, Liederhalle Stuttgart, Prinzregententheater München, Konzerthaus Wien, Stiftung Mozarteum Salzburg and Palau de la Música Catalana Barcelona. In November 2020 concertgoers can listen to them once again as “Junge Wilde” of the Konzerthaus Dortmund. In May 2021 they perform the opening concert of the Klavierfestival Ruhr in Mülheim an der Ruhr.
Lucas and Arthur received their first piano lessons in their native town of Hilversum. It became clear quickly that they were great talents. As children, they were already invited to perform for the Dutch Queen Beatrix. First awards at competitions followed shortly. In 2005, the brothers studied in Portugal and Brazil for nearly a year at the invitation of Portuguese master pianist Maria João Pires. During the following years they took lessons from both Pires and two renowned Dutch teachers. Lucas completed his studies with Menahem Pressler in the US and Dmitri Bashkirov in Madrid. Arthur graduated from the Amsterdam Conservatory where he studied with Jan Wijn.
Recording exclusively with Deutsche Grammophon since 2010, their debut CD with works by Beethoven received platinum status and was awarded the Edison Klassiek audience award. A Schubert recording and their third CD Jeux, dedicated to French piano music, were subsequently released. Their recording of Mozart’s piano concertos KV 365 and KV 242 together with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields under the baton of Sir Neville Marriner reached gold status and was listed by the Gramophone magazine among ‘The 50 Greatest Mozart Recordings’. Their discography also includes a recording of Poulenc’s double piano concerto and Saint-Saëns’ ‘The Carnival of the Animals’ with Concertgebouworkest and Stéphane Denève. The duo looks forward to the release of their Bach recording with Amsterdam Sinfonietta in late September 2019.
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