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Pianist Lucas Jussen performs as part of a duo with his younger brother, Arthur Jussen. The brothers were educated in part separately, but they perform together almost exclusively, appearing with major orchestras and at festivals in many countries.

Lucas Jussen was born in Hilversum in the Netherlands on February 27, 1993. He and Arthur were members of a musical family; their father, Paul Jussen, was a timpanist who performed with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, and their mother, Christiane van Gelder, taught the flute. The brothers took up the piano early, studying with Jan Wijn. They also had regular lessons from Maria João Pires and some from such stars as Lang Lang and Ricardo Castro. As children, they performed for the Netherlands' Queen Beatrix. When Lucas was 13, the brothers played Mozart's Concerto for two pianos in E flat major, K. 365, with the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic under conductor Jaap van Zweden. At that point, the brothers' educations diverged; Lucas studied in the U.S. for two years with Menahem Pressler, and later, he studied with Dmitri Bashkirov at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofia in Madrid. They joined the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic once again in 2009, performing Poulenc's Concerto for two pianos. The following year, they were signed to the Deutsche Grammophon label and released the album Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, performing well-known sonatas individually as well as several works for piano four hands.

The brother duo has continued to record for Deutsche Grammophon, issuing a varied set of albums covering such composers as Debussy, Bach, and Schubert. In 2021, they released The Russian Album. Lucas & Arthur Jussen have appeared with such major orchestras as the Boston Symphony, the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and orchestras in Asia and Australia. They have appeared at festivals around western Europe, and in 2021-2022, they served as artists-in-residence at the Berlin Konzerthaus. The brothers have commissioned several contemporary works, and in 2022, they released the album Dutch Masters on Deutsche Grammophon. ~ James Manheim

Pianist Arthur Jussen performs as part of a duo with his older brother, Lucas Jussen. The brothers were educated in part separately, but they perform together almost exclusively, appearing with major orchestras and at festivals in many countries.

Arthur Jussen was born in Hilversum in the Netherlands on September 28, 1996. He and Lucas were members of a musical family; their father, Paul Jussen, was a timpanist who performed with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, and their mother, Christiane van Gelder, taught the flute. The brothers took up the piano early, studying with Jan Wijn. They also had regular lessons from Maria João Pires and some from such stars as Lang Lang and Ricardo Castro. As children, they performed for the Netherlands' Queen Beatrix. In 2004, Arthur Jussen won a first prize at the National Competition of the Stichting Jong Muziektalent Nederland. When Arthur was ten, the brothers played Mozart's Concerto for two pianos in E flat major, K. 365, with the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic under conductor Jaap van Zweden. At that point, the brothers' educations diverged; Arthur continued to study at the Amsterdam Conservatory with Wijn. They joined the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic once again in 2009, performing Poulenc's Concerto for two pianos. The following year, they were signed to the Deutsche Grammophon label and released the album Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, performing well-known sonatas individually as well as several works for piano four hands.

The brother duo has continued to record for Deutsche Grammophon, issuing a varied set of albums covering such composers as Debussy, Bach, and Schubert. In 2021, they released The Russian Album. Arthur & Lucas Jussen have appeared with such major orchestras as the Boston Symphony, the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and orchestras in Asia and Australia. They have appeared at festivals around western Europe, and in 2021-2022, they served as artists-in-residence at the Berlin Konzerthaus. The brothers have commissioned several contemporary works, and in 2022, they released the album Dutch Masters on Deutsche Grammophon. ~ James Manheim

The Amsterdam Sinfonietta is a professional string orchestra consisting of 23 musicians. It has worked with visiting artists of international renown and has a broad, varied repertoire that includes music from outside the classical sphere. The orchestra launched a classical film series in 2020, and in 2021, it was heard accompanying Thomas Oliemans on the album Formidable!

The Amsterdam Sinfonietta was founded as the Nieuw Sinfonietta Amsterdam in 1988; its members were young musicians who wanted to cultivate a high level of ensemble playing. The group's first music director was Lev Markiz, who led performances of new works and 20th century Russian string orchestra repertory. He was succeeded in 1998 by Peter Oundjian, who followed other string orchestras of the time by organizing performances of full-scale symphonic works. Candida Thompson became the Amsterdam Sinfonietta's concertmaster in 1995 and succeeded Oundjian as artistic director for the 2003-2004 season. The Amsterdam Sinfonietta signed to the Channel Classics label and released a recording of Tchaikovsky's Souvenir de Florence in 2004.

In addition to performances in the Netherlands and regular appearances throughout Europe, the Amsterdam Sinfonietta has toured North and South America, South Africa, Australia, and Asia. It has appeared at the Barbican in London, the Cité de la Musique in Paris, and the National Center of the Performing Arts in Beijing. Though led by Thompson, the orchestra performs without a conductor. However, the orchestra has had a long list of guest conductors and leaders, including such major figures as Murray Perahia, Iona Brown, and Gennady Rozhdestvensky, among many others. The Amsterdam Sinfonietta has performed numerous new works, including operatic productions for both adults and children. It has collaborated with many leading classical artists, such as Kristian Bezuidenhout, Sol Gabetta, and Janine Jansen, as well as pop artists Karin Bloemen, Wende (Wende Snijders), and Rufus Wainwright, among others.

The Amsterdam Sinfonietta has recorded for the ECM, Deutsche Grammophon, and Challenge Classics labels while continuing to record steadily for Channel Classics, issuing an album featuring Bartók's Divertimento for string orchestra in 2018. That recording also included a string orchestra arrangement of the Brahms String Quintet in G major, Op. 111, and many of its recordings have included orchestral versions of chamber works. The orchestra inaugurated a short film series in 2020 with Strings, which was followed by Misirlou and Atashgah. The Amsterdam Sinfonietta was heard backing baritone Thomas Oliemans on the album Formidable! in 2021. ~ James Manheim & Keith Finke

Although best known for her directorship of the Amsterdam Sinfonietta, the Scots-born, Dutch-resident violinist Candida Thompson has had an international career as both instrumentalist and conductor. Thompson was born in Glasgow on October 27, 1967. She was trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, studying with David Takeno and graduating with honors. Thompson enrolled for further studies at the Banff Center for the Arts in western Canada. After several competition prizes, she moved to Amsterdam in 1992 and has kept the city as her home base ever since. Thompson's solo credits include appearances with the Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra, the Camerata Nordica, the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, and the English String Orchestra. Thompson is well known to American audiences as a frequent guest at Florida's La Musica Chamber Music Festival; she also appeared at the Boston Chamber Music Festival in 2007. Her solo career has taken her as far afield as the Czech Republic, Finland, and Hong Kong. She has had guest conductorship in the Netherlands, Scandinavia, and the U.K., and she became the leader and artistic director of the Amsterdam Sinfonietta in 2003. There she has worked with top soloists from the Netherlands and beyond, including Murray Perahia, Gidon Kremer, and Maxim Vengerov, and Janine Jansen, whom she joined on the latter's classic 2005 recording of Vivaldi's Four Seasons violin concertos. Her recordings with the Amsterdam Sinfonietta have appeared on the Channel Classics label, except for a 2014 reading of Tigran Mansurian's Quasi parlando with violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja and cellist Anja Lechner, which appeared on ECM. An album of orchestral arrangements of Shostakovich string quartets won several major awards and top critical ratings. Thompson and the Amsterdam Sinfonietta released an album featuring Bartók's Divertimento for string orchestra and an orchestral arrangement of the Brahms String Quintet No. 2 in G major, Op. 111, on Channel Classics in 2018. ~ James Manheim