Saturday, February 21, 2026

Berliner Philharmonie, Herbert-von-Karajan-Straße, Berlin

The youngest of Kurt Sanderling’s three conducting sons, Michael, formerly a cellist, offered first a little Liszt – with sinister tread and tangy violins – a devilish portrayal, with room to sprint, and time to reflect under an ominous night sky. Then die Brüder Jussen proved to be a pair of Likely Lads at their respective pianos, responding eagerly to Sanderling’s bristling tempo and doing so with poise, shape and sparkle, sensitive dynamics, too, the cadenza cumulative. The slow movement had winsome appeal, progressing as if extemporised, some gentle pianissimo bass growls from one of the soloists caught the ear gratefully, and the Finale – crisp and clear – sounded as if a new-line luxury automobile had just been launched by the Bayerische Motoren Werke and was cruising on an autobahn very near to the speed limit. For a scintillating encore, Lucas and Arthur played a crazy, irreverent movement from Bunte Blätter by Jörg Widmann.

Maybe Schoenberg’s orchestration of Brahms’s Opus 25 is thought irreverent, especially the use of un-Brahmsian percussion (including a xylophone, glockenspiel,and side drum ) in the fizzing ‘gypsy’ Finale, the whole richly sounded by Sanderling and the Berliners – unapologetically – with no loss of detail, a lighter touch at times evidence of giving the scoring as much kudos as the music already had when the arranger alighted on his cunning plan.

Franz Liszt Zwei Episoden aus Lenaus Faust: Der Tanz in der Dorfschenke (1st Mephisto Waltz)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra in E-flat, K365 Lucas & Arthur Jussen pianos

Johannes Brahms Piano Quartet No.1 in G-minor, op.25 (arr. Arnold Schoenberg)