AD / Den Haag – April 10th, 2012
by Herman Rosenberg

What does one like the best of the piano playing brothers Lucas and Arthur Jussen? Not that they are young (19 and 15 years) and almost look like twins. That is nothing new anymore. No, what makes a concert like the one given last Sunday in the Philips Hall so nice is the boys’ frankness and the utter absence of starlike airs. Yes, they are stars, but only when they are playing the grand piano. Once they get up and bow, they are just two ordinary Dutch lads, a little bit shy even.
Just like they said in an interview with this newspaper: for them there only is one thing that counts – the music. By Beethoven in this case. The Jussen brothers demonstrate why Deutsche Grammophon wanted to record their interpretations of this composer and why the CD got platinum. Their Beethoven sounds pure, bright and natural, and they show they are very receptive to the temperament of the master, who often was angry or sad but at times could also show a great sense of humour. In particular Lucas’ interpretation of the Sonata no. 17 “Sturm” was of a moving beauty.
In fact, the fourhanded pieces of music (something they have to do because everyone likes that so much) were a side issue. But in that too, the brothers demonstrated a great sense of style and timing. Lucas and Arthur did not know when to stop, as three encores followed after the concert.