»It’s like driving two BMWs at the same time,« said conductor Michael Schønwandt after conducting the two Dutch brothers Lucas and Arthur Jussen. Notwithstanding their young age, these two pianists – 29 and 25 years old – have been an international sensation creating enthusiasm for some time. As children they performed before The Netherlands‘ Queen Beatrix and in 2005 they were invited by Portuguese concert pianist Maria João Pires to study in Portugal and Brazil. Lucas completed his training with Menahem Pressler in the USA and with Dmitri Bashkirov in Madrid. Arthur completed his studies with Jan Wijn at the Amsterdam Conservatory.

The brothers now work with orchestras such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Symphony Orchestras in Montréal, Sydney, Singapore and Shanghai. They also perform under renowned conductors such as Christoph Eschenbach, Valery Gergiev, Manfred Honeck, Andris Nelsons, Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Jaap van Zweden. During the 2021/2022 season, these musicians are performing as ›Artists in Residence‹ at the Konzerthaus Berlin. In addition, they will be giving concerts in many European cities and at renowned festivals such as the Klavierfestival Ruhr, the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, the Kissinger Sommer and the Schubertiade. These two pianists are making their debut with the Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen.

Jérémie Rhorer is one of the most versatile and intellectually ambitious conductors of his generation. As founder and Artistic Director of the orchestra Le Cercle de l’Harmonie, he continues the tradition of artist-innovator, exploring 18th and 19th century repertoire using period instruments in the original pitch. As conductor, Rhorer is as celebrated an interpreter of Mozart’s work as he is of modern works. Jérémie Rhorer is also a respected composer and winner of the Pierre Cardin Prize.

Rhorer has conducted major international orchestras including the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Gewandhausorchester, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Orchestre de Paris and the Czech Philharmonic. He is a frequent guest with the Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen. As a sought-after opera conductor, Rhorer has conducted performances at the Wiener Staatsoper, the Bayerische Staatsoper, La Monnaie in Brussels, Opéra National de Lyon, the Teatro Real in Madrid and the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma. He has also been a guest of the most renowned international European festivals such as Aix-en-Provence, Glyndebourne, Edinburgh, at the BBC Proms, the Salzburg Festspiele and the Spoleto Festival.

With le Cercle de l’Harmonie, he has conducted ground-breaking new interpretations of standard operas: most recently, performances of Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia (at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris, at the Edinburgh International Festival and at the Musikfest Bremen 2017/18, now available on DVD) and Verdi’s La Traviata (at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris and at the Musikfest Bremen 2018/19) on period instruments and with Verdi’s original A=432Hz tuning.

For over 10 years, Jérémie Rhorer has enjoyed a close relationship with the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, where he has conducted a broad spectrum of standard, rarely-performed and contemporary operas. Following his debut with Spontini’s La Vestale, he gave a celebrated interpretation of Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites with Olivier Py as Director, the DVD recording of which was awarded the 2016 BBC Music Magazine prize. Rhorer has also conducted a Mozart series at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées for several seasons: conducting le Cercle de l’Harmonie they performed La Clemenza di Tito (December 2014), Die Entführung aus dem Serail (September 2015), Don Giovanni (December 2016) and Le nozze di Figaro (December 2019).

Highlights of the 2022/23 season include Rhorer’s return to the Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg and to the Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal, his debuts with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Bordeaux-Aquitaine and the Orchestra Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. He will also be giving his debut at the Opera House Zurich with Offenbach’s seldom-performed opera Barkouff.

In recent years, Jérémie Rhorer and Le Cercle de l’Harmonie have also instigated an innovative residency at the Grand Théâtre de Provence in Aix-en-Provence with an educational programme for new audiences.