Nello specchio di Rossini – In Rossini’s Mirror

Lucas & Arthur Jussen grew up in a musical environment in Hilversum. Their mother works as a flute teacher, while their father is a drummer with the Dutch Radio Philharmonic Orchestra. Likely, Lucas & Arthur Jussen were already doing their first finger exercises while still in their strollers. As their mother recounts, both made nearly identical progress on the piano from the very beginning and were barely distinguishable from one another. Today, the brothers captivate audiences with their virtuoso performances and charismatic stage presence in the world’s greatest concert halls.

Felix Mendelssohn’s Concerto for Two Pianos in E Major is a stroke of genius by a 14-year-old composer. He gave it to his sister Fanny as a gift for her 18th birthday and performed the world premiere with her.

Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 6, often referred to as the “Little C Major” Symphony, marks an interesting turning point in the Austrian composer’s career. Around the time the Sixth Symphony was composed, “Rossini fever” broke out in Vienna—a veritable storm of enthusiasm for Rossini’s operas, including “Il barbiere di Siviglia.”

A distinctive musical device used by the Italian composer was the so-called “Rossini roll”: as the piece progressed, Rossini made the movement faster and louder. Schubert, too, could not escape the Rossini craze. His admiration for Rossini’s original taste in instrumentation, his melodic grace, and his distinctive (vocal) lines is also reflected in his Sixth Symphony.