Brothers in life and perfectly attuned partners on stage, Lucas and Arthur Jussen rank among the most established piano duos of their generation. On 20 September, they will make their debut at classicAscona together with the Camerata Salzburg, performing Mendelssohn’s brilliant Concerto for Two Pianos. In this interview, they reflect on what makes playing as a duo so unique: a delicate balance of deep connection, instinctive understanding, and a not-to-be-underestimated element of unpredictability that keeps their musical dialogue alive and ever evolving.
What fascinates you about playing as a duo?
Lucas: We simply love making music – and being able to do it together is even better. Then there’s the adrenaline and euphoria of concerts, where you never really know what’s going to happen. You can plan a lot in rehearsal, decide how to play, but on stage many things change and happen in the moment. It’s a bit scary, but it’s exactly this unpredictability that makes the experience so beautiful and exciting.
Does being brothers help you reach a special understanding?
Arthur: Being brothers helps in the sense that, since we were little, we’ve spent so much time together playing at the same piano that today we know each other inside out and understand each other instantly: often we don’t even need to look at each other or speak – everything happens instinctively.
What memories do you have of your lessons with the great Maria João Pires?
Arthur: We lived and studied with her for a year, between Portugal and Brazil. We were 9 and 12 – an age when you’re still “a blank page.” Studying with her was something enormous: she really taught us how to make music. She wasn’t the best teacher in terms of explaining things rationally or putting them into words, but she showed so much through the way she played. Often she would try to explain something, then sit down at the piano and play it – and you understood perfectly. What makes her so special is her phrasing: she always talked about breathing within the music, really. She said not to think in bars, but to sing and phrase. The sound and beauty of her playing are incredible. We always say that if we have even 10% of her musicality, we’re already extremely lucky.
The repertoire for two pianos or piano four hands is vast: what do you think about transcriptions?
Arthur: We’re not against them at all, but who made them is crucial. When it’s the composer themselves – like Ravel or Stravinsky – it works: it means they also believe in the piano version. Otherwise we’re more cautious: not everything that works in an orchestra also works on the piano. So we’re very selective.
Do you prefer playing as a duo with orchestra or in chamber formation? And the solo repertoire?
Arthur: We like the combination. We love playing with orchestra: every orchestra and conductor is different, so it’s always a new experience. But we also love recitals for two pianos or four hands – I’d say it’s really 50/50. We also play alone, but less – the heart of our work remains the duo. The solo repertoire is fantastic though, and you learn a lot from it, so we keep cultivating it, even if to a lesser extent.
At classicAscona you will perform the Mendelssohn Concerto, written when he was only 14 …
Arthur: The beauty of that concerto is that you can hear his young age: it’s still a bit naive, but full of talent and creativity. It’s like a young footballer making his debut: he runs everywhere, wants to prove everything. Sometimes he overdoes it – but out of enthusiasm. There are moments in the piece, too, where there’s “too much,” but it’s exactly this imperfection that we love: it’s consistent with his age. To write something like that at 14 or 15 is incredible: full of joy, energy, nuance. It’s one of the pieces we love most.
Do you also spend a lot of time together in your free time?
Lucas: Absolutely. We come from a very close-knit family, and we are very grateful for that. Even after leaving home, we never strayed far from one another. When we lived in Amsterdam, our apartments were directly opposite each other – if we opened the windows, we could hear each other practising. I just moved back to Hilversum, where we were born and where our parents still live, and Arthur will soon join me there, so we will all be together again. Today, we make a conscious effort to spend as much time as possible with our family – and with each other. For many years, the piano was at the centre of everything we did, and those years were wonderful. But now we also cherish the simple moments: sharing a meal, talking, enjoying a glass of wine together. Those everyday moments have become just as valuable as making music.
Sun 20 Sep, 6:30 PM | Nello specchio di Rossini – Im Spiegel Rossinis: with Camerata Salzburg – Finnegan Downie Dear, conductor (San Francesco, Locarno)
