Lucas & Arthur Jussen

The Jussens: it is slowly getting serious

Friday 2 November 2012

De Volkskrant – 2 November 2012
Mozart and Handel. Lucas and Arthur Jussen (piano), Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest conducted by Jan Willem de Vriend. Amsterdam, Concertgebouw, 31/10.
by Guido van Oorschot

Some boys’ books are written while the main characters are still boys themselves – such as the Hilversum piano brothers Lucas (19) and Arthur (16) Jussen. Their agenda said 31 October was the day of their debut with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. However, before they could frolic up to the Amsterdam stage, they unexpectedly had to go to perform in Laren. At Joop Stokkermans’ funeral service they premiered his last notes… which the composer had actually written on their request.
Should the brothers have wrestled with any sad feelings, one did not notice it in the way they played Mozart that evening. On the contrary, warm and poetic the Concerto for two pianos KV 365 flowed through the hall. And during the encore, a Waltz by Arenski, amazing veils of notes drifted by.
By now, their career is becoming more and more serious, despite the fact that one is working hard to finish his pre-university education and the other still has to do many years of piano study in the United States. By the way, the Jussens are not always operating as brothers; they are very busy building their lives as individual musicians. This season they play piano concertos by Mozart and Beethoven with various regional orchestras – individually, as a soloist.
Today, it is hard to tell what direction the Jussen brothers’ career will take. What struck in particular, in Amsterdam, was the nonchalant ease with which they moved through Mozart. One did not hear a couple of rebellions who were going to turn the world of pianists around. The duo hooks on to a tradition which rather strokes the music from the keys than tortures them. Under their hands two pianos make up one single salving instrument, in which Arthur, the youngest one, has the mildest touch.
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The Jussens: it is slowly getting serious
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