1834–1858 · Germany
Julius Reubke (1834–1858) was a German composer, pianist and organist, a pupil of Franz Liszt. His output is small, but two sonatas are counted as his main works: the organ sonata on the 94th Psalm and the piano sonata in B-flat minor. The site has two editions of the organ sonata, both at the «Intermediate+» level.
Julius Reubke was born on 23 March 1834 in Hausneindorf, near Quedlinburg. He was the eldest son of Adolf Reubke (1805–1875), a well-known builder of organs and pianos. Emil and Karl, two of his five siblings, worked alongside their father. Another brother, Otto, also became a musician: he was a pianist, organist and composer.
Julius received his first music lessons in Quedlinburg from Hermann Bönicke (1821–1879).
In 1851 Reubke entered the conservatory in Berlin. He studied piano with Theodor Kullak and composition with Adolf Marx. Hans von Bülow regarded him as one of the most talented students at the conservatory, and the young man's playing was also highly valued by other well-known musicians.
Two short piano pieces in the style of Chopin are known from his Berlin period. There he got to know the conductor Hans von Bülow and the organist Alexander Winterberger, who were both linked to Franz Liszt.
Liszt came to Berlin in December 1855. At Bülow's suggestion he agreed to give Reubke lessons in piano and composition at Weimar, beginning in February 1856, and let the young man stay at the Altenburg, the house Liszt maintained there. Liszt's influence on the young musician's creative style was enormous.
Here Reubke wrote his two major works. He worked on the Piano Sonata in B-flat minor between December 1856 and March 1857, and finished the organ sonata in C minor a month later. An opera was also on his mind. Professor Carl Riedel was the dedicatee of the organ sonata. Members of the Weimar circle valued both sonatas highly, and Liszt himself described Reubke as a composer of enormous talent.
The organ sonata was first performed on 17 June 1857 on a Friedrich Ladegast instrument in Merseburg Cathedral, with the composer himself at the keyboard.
After finishing his studies with Liszt, Reubke moved to Dresden at the end of 1857. His tuberculosis had grown worse by then, leaving him too weak to play or write music. In May 1858 he went to the spa of Pillnitz and died there a few days later, on 3 June 1858. He was laid to rest close to the church of Maria am Wasser in Hosterwitz; the grave is lost.
A few days after his death Peter Cornelius wrote a memorial poem, «On the Death of Julius Reubke». On 31 July 2015 the Society of Friends of the Organ placed a memorial plaque on the outer wall of the church of Maria am Wasser.
The core of Reubke's legacy is two sonatas, one for organ and one for piano. Both follow the German Romantic manner and are regarded as virtuosic and fairly hard to play. Liszt's influence can be seen in their form and key structure, yet the composer's own voice is clearly present. Each sonata is in one movement but develops intensely: the organ sonata is built on a single theme, the piano sonata on thematic metamorphoses. The harmony of each is rich, and both call for a high level of technical skill.
The organ sonata on the 94th Psalm was written in 1857 and took its cue from Liszt's chorale fantasy and fugue «Ad nos, ad salutarem undam». The organist needs an advanced pedal technique. The piece is programme music in a single movement, close to a symphonic poem, and its contrasting sections follow particular lines of the psalm. The opening theme is the source of all the other material. A fierce fugue forms the finale, picturing the Last Judgement and the defeat of evil, and the sonata closes by speeding up and landing on heavy C minor chords. Many concert organists play it, and it has been recorded by Jean Guillou (1993), Michael Schönheit (2007) and others.
The organ sonata is usually divided into three parts, marked Grave – Larghetto – Allegro con fuoco – Grave. The first two are in sonata form, and the third is a fugue that also draws on sonata form. Varied continuous development, repeated phrases and blurred borders between sections give the impression of spontaneous improvisation. The Adagio section expresses sorrow and consolation and ends when the sonata's original theme appears.
Liszt's Sonata in B minor influenced the Piano Sonata in B-flat minor. Hamish Milne's 1977 recording earned high praise in a Gramophone review. Among his other works are an organ setting of «O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden» in chorale-variation form and an Adagio in E minor, also for organ, from 1857.
Reubke's harmonic language, with its modulations, is in places very bold; one example is the dissonances in the finale of the piano sonata. He was one of Liszt's favourite pupils, and after his death Liszt wrote a letter of condolence to the composer's father.
The site has two editions of the organ sonata: «Stradal (Reubke) - Organ Sonata (The 94th Psalm)» and «part2 - reubke psalm» (Op. 94). Both are marked at the «Intermediate+» level.