Julius Reubke - les deux sonates Alma Bettencourt

• Julius Reubke (1834 - 1858): Sonate pour piano en si bémol mineur:
• 1 Reubke: Sonate pour piano en si bémol mineur 30:07
• Sonate pour orgue en ut mineur « psaume 94 »:
• 2 Reubke: Sonate pour orgue en ut mineur « psaume 94 » 24:37
• Total Runtime 54:44

Info for Julius Reubke - les deux sonates

As a pianist and organist with a passion for Romantic music, I recently discovered the work of Reubke, in particular his Piano Sonata in B♭ minor (1857) and his Organ Sonata in C minor “Psalm 94” (1857). The latter is influenced by Liszt’s Fantasy and Fugue on “Ad nos ad salutarem undam”, premiered in 1852.

These two exciting works have so much in common that I have chosen to bring them together on a single recording. In addition to the influence of Liszt and Wagner (Reubke attended a performance of Tannhäuser conducted by Liszt in Berlin in 1856), there are clear thematic links between the two sonatas. What characterizes them above all is the orchestral vision that the composer imposes on his writing: while the piano is a naturally expressive instrument, the organ is far less so. And yet, these two sonatas manage to make us forget the keyboards for good.

Recorded December 8-10, 2024 on the Grand Orgue Cavaillé-Coll in Toulouse’s Basilique Saint-Sernin, and December 19-20, 2024 in the recording studio of the Orchestre National d’Île-de-France.

In partnership with the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris.

Alma Bettencourt, organ, piano

Alma Bettencourt
Born in 2004, Alma Bettencourt began playing the piano at the age of 5. In 2014, she joined the piano class of Elena Rozanova at the Conservatoire à rayonnement régional (CRR) while also starting organ studies with Éric Lebrun in 2016 at the CRR of Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, where she obtained her Diplôme d’Études Musicales (DEM) in 2019. From the 2019/2020 academic year, she also studied piano under Romano Pallottini at the same institution, earning her DEM in 2021. In the 2020/2021 academic year, she was admitted to the class of Olivier Latry and Thomas Ospital at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, joining Emmanuel Strosser’s piano class two years later. ‍

Since 2016, Alma Bettencourt has performed in recitals and collective concerts in venues such as Saint-Maur-des-Fossés (Auditorium of the CRR, Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire and Saint-Nicolas churches), Paris (Saint-Antoine-des-Quinze-Vingt, Saint-Louis-en-l’Île, Saint-Pierre-de-Montmartre, Pentemont Temple, Danish Church, Saint-Séverin), as well as in Fouesnant, Chennevières, Cunault, Montereau, Saint-Pol-de-Léon, Cherbourg, Quimperlé, Briançon, Plougastel-Daoulas, and Lannion. She premiered works by Michel Boédec, including Aleppian Circle, which was dedicated to her. ‍

In 2018, she won the L’Orgue des jeunes competition organized by the André-Marchal Academy. In 2021, she participated in the recording of Olivier Messiaen’s complete organ works at Toul Cathedral and performed at the composition competition held by Saint-Sulpice Church in Paris. In October 2022, she was a guest at the Toulouse les Orgues festival.

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