Lucas Jussen

Lucas Jussen is a pianist who appears here as one half of a piano duo with his brother Arthur Jussen, performing with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in New York. The program title, "Lucas & Arthur Jussen," suggests repertoire written for two pianos or piano four hands with orchestra, a format that lets listeners hear two soloists trading and layering musical lines.

Based on the billing, listeners can expect works for two pianos and orchestra, a repertoire that includes pieces by composers such as Mozart, Poulenc, and Mendelssohn, where two pianists interlock rapid passages and share melodic material back and forth. In such performances, the interest often comes from how tightly the two soloists coordinate timing and dynamics, since they must breathe together as if one instrument were split in two. Orpheus Chamber Orchestra itself performs without a conductor, meaning the ensemble and soloists must negotiate tempo and phrasing collectively, which can make for a more chamber-like, conversational orchestral sound. Listeners new to two-piano repertoire should listen for moments of echo, where one piano answers a phrase just stated by the other.