Arthur and Lucas Jussen
On July 16-17, the Dutch brothers Lucas and Arthur Jussen perform with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in their Tanglewood Debut.
The Turkish composer Fazil Say is an outstanding pianist whose music is informed by a lifelong commitment to spontaneity and improvisation. He wrote his piano four-hands concerto Phoenix, a BSO co-commission receiving its American premiere in this concert, for the remarkable Dutch duo-pianists Lucas and Arthur Jussen, who gave the world premiere in January 2022 with the Munich Philharmonic.
Lucas and Arthur Jussen
‘It is like driving a pair of BMWs’, remarked conductor Michael Schønwandt, after directing the Dutch brothers Lucas (26) and Arthur Jussen (23). Despite their young age, they have been part of the international concert world for years and are praised by both press and audiences.
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.
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.