Simone Young

Chief Conductor

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It’s not often you get to hear music written for two pianos – or rarer still, four hands playing the same piano. You need two musicians totally in synch, so deeply connected that they know each other’s every thought and gesture. 

Lucas and Arthur Jussen literally have that connection in their DNA. The Dutch brothers are taking the classical world by storm with their mesmerizing performances and Deutsche Grammophon albums, praised as ‘formidable storytellers, who captivate listeners with their spellbinding craft’ (Der Tagesspiegel). 

In their Sydney Opera House Concert Hall debut they take us on an adventure through more than 100 years of music, starting with the poised elegance of Mozart and the lyricism of Schubert’s beloved Fantasie. With four hands playing one piano, these are works requiring breathtaking precision and understanding. 

By contrast, the second half features inventive new perspectives on timeless orchestral classics:  Ravel’s La valse and Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. In arrangements for two pianos, the drama and energy of the originals is distilled into something fresh and electrifying, but undeniably familiar. An energising new way to experience old favourites. 

With two grand pianos nestled together on stage and two pianists playing as one, piano fans have twice as many reasons to be part of it

Program

MOZART

Sonata for Two Pianos, K448

SCHUBERT

Fantasy for Piano 4 Hands, D940

RAVEL

La Valse (for two pianos)

STRAVINSKY

The Rite of Spring (for two pianos)

Artists

Lucas & Arthur Jussen

Piano

Lucas & Arthur Jussen are among the most sought-after piano duos of our time. Given their brilliant international career, it is fair to say that the Jussen brothers (born in 1993 and 1996) are Holland’s best-known ambassadors for classical music. With their energetic, almost symbiotic playing, their great tonal sophistication and their gripping interpretations, they are enthusiastically acclaimed by press and audience alike. ‘It’s like driving two BMWs at the same time,’ said conductor Michael Schønwandt about the two pianists after a joint concert.

Engagements have taken them to leading orchestras such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. They have worked with many renowned conductors, including Christoph Eschenbach, Iván Fischer, Sir Neville Marriner, Andris Nelsons, Yannick Nezét-Séguin and Jaap van Zweden.

Lucas & Arthur Jussen are Artists in Residence with the Frankfurt hr Symphony Orchestra for the 2025/2026 season. They will be featured in several programs as part of this residency. A particular highlight of the season is their eagerly awaited debut with the Berlin Philharmonic in February 2026. Further invitations will take them to the Danish National Symphony, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Gewandhaus Orchestra, Philharmonia Zurich, Lahti Symphony and Orchestre National de France, among others. As soloists, they will also tour with the Munich Philharmonic, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. In the USA, they will make their debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and can be heard in several recitals, including in Prescott, La Jolla, Palm Springs and Kansas City. In April 2026, they will premiere Andrew Norman’s double concerto, composed especially for them, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Susanna Mälkki.

In Asia, the Jussen brothers will perform for the first time at the Tongyeong International Music Festival. They will then travel to Taiwan to give a concert with the Taiwan Philharmonic and play at the Weiwuying International Music Festival. Highlights in Europe include appearances at major festivals such as the Gstaad Festival, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, the Enescu Festival and the Istanbul Music Festival. Together with percussionists Alexej Gerassimez and Emil Kuyumcuyan, they present a dynamic piano-percussion program in Hamburg, Hanover, Bremen, Cologne, Dresden, Amsterdam, Oslo, Budapest and Barcelona, at the Ruhr Piano Festival and the Prague Spring Festival. They can be heard in recital in Amsterdam, Arnhem, Ghent, Antwerp, Braunschweig, Leipzig, Marburg, Münster, Bielefeld, Wiesloch, Erlangen, Bern, Milan and Vilnius, among other places.

Lucas & Arthur Jussen have been signed to Deutsche Grammophon since 2010. Their debut recording of works by Beethoven went platinum and won the Edison Klassiek Audience Award. This was followed by a Schubert CD and the album Jeux featuring French piano music. In 2015, a recording of Mozart’s Concertos K242 and 365 with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields under Sir Neville Marriner was released, achieving gold status. Further releases include Poulenc’s Double Concerto and Saint-Saëns’ The Carnival of the Animals with the Concertgebouworkest under Stéphane Denève, as well as a Bach album with the Amsterdam Sinfonietta. On The Russian Album (2021), they interpret works for two pianos by Rachmaninov, Stravinsky and Arensky. In their latest recording, Dutch Masters (April 2022), supported by the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, among others, they devote themselves to works by Dutch composers. This recording was awarded an Edison Klassiek and the audience prize.

Lucas & Arthur Jussen received their first piano lessons in their hometown of Hilversum. Even as children, they performed before Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, and their first awards in competitions followed. In 2005, the two met Portuguese pianist Maria João Pires, who mentored them for years. Lucas later studied with Menahem Pressler in the United States and Dmitri Bashkirov in Madrid, while Arthur completed his studies with Jan Wijn at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam.