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Chamber Music NZ presents Lucas & Arthur Jussen
Friday, August 21 — Glenroy Auditorium
Review by Brenda Harwood
Dutch brothers Lucas and Arthur Jussen held a large audience spellbound in the palms of their hands during an epic recital of piano duos.
Throughout Friday’s extraordinary performance, the supremely talented pair seemed like an extension of the piano and of each other — totally in sync in their playing and movements.
Playing much of the concert with their eyes shut and swaying in swan-like fashion, Lucan and Arthur Jussen seemed to inhabit and embody the music.
The performance began with Mozart’s youthful, exuberant Sonata for piano, four hands in D major superbly performed with elegance and precise timing.
Schubert’s darker, more somber Fantasie in F minor was equally stunning, as the Jussen’s worked brilliantly together to pass the themes back and forth and brought every emotion to the fore.
The brothers’ performance of Mendelssohn’s tender and virtuosic Andante and Allegro brilliant in A major was a delight, as they moved around each other and shared the piano keyboard like two halves of one person.
Watching them play with tenderness and heart — with eyes shut — while maintaining total control and perfect timing, was simply extraordinary.
After such a wonderful first half, the audience settled in with anticipation for Lucas and Arthur Jussen’s performance of Stravinsky’s powerful, frantic and often savage The Rite of Spring — and the brothers did not disappoint.
In a thrilling performance that ranged from gentle to full-on muscular power, the total understanding between the duo was evident throughout the challenging, virtuosic piece.
Dynamics rose and fell, and as the pace grew more and more frantic, the mental image of a young girl being forced to dance herself to death — the theme of Stravinsky’s work — rose in the mind.
As the final chord rang out, the audience erupted into thunderous applause, rising as one to give the brothers a much-deserved standing ovation.
As an encore, the brothers played a beautiful, gentle Bach piece, as a perfect end to an incredible evening of music.
Bravo!