Sunday August 2 at 4:15 p.m. at Chartres Cathedral: International organ festival. Benjamin Steens (Belgium). Free entry within the limit of authorized places.
A native of Bonheiden (Belgium), Benjamin-Joseph STEENS obtained a Masters in musicology at the Catholic University of Louvain and at Paris-IV Sorbonne. At the same time, he studied at the Lemmens Institute (Louvain) and at the Orléans Conservatory, then at the National Superior Music and Dance Conservatory of Paris where his studies were crowned with several First Prizes and Diplomas of Higher Education in organ (class of Michel Bouvard and Olivier Latry), harpsichord (class by Pierre Hantaï then Olivier Baumont) and basso continuo. He also obtained the Organ Aptitude Certificate (pedagogy department) there.
His attraction for old keyboards was enriched by contact with Jos van Immerseel, with whom he perfected at the Antwerp Conservatory. He became passionate about the clavichord, becoming one of the rare contemporary keyboardists to play this instrument in recital and to use it in chamber music. His natural curiosity for all repertoires also led him to take an interest in music from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries and to collaborate with composers to prepare creations, including the Ricercar for organ by Bert van Herck given in Reims in 2006 One of the first organists to play the monumental work of Jean-Louis Florentz Standing on the sun, he was able to interpret it notably on the great organs of Notre-Dame de Paris in 1998 and 1999.
Holder of the great Cattiaux organs of the Saint-Remi Basilica in Reims, of which he is also curator, responsible for the Bernard Aubertin organ in Vertus (Marne), Benjamin-Joseph Steens is regularly invited by European festivals (Festival de Flandres, Toulouse- les-Orgues, Flâneries Musicales de Reims…) for recitals, chamber music concerts or orchestral productions. His performances are periodically recorded by radio or television. He teaches organ, harpsichord and basso continuo at CRR de Reims and at the Conservatoire de Levallois (Paris region), as well as clavichord as part of the Master in Interpretation of Ancient Music at Paris Sorbonne University. He is also regularly asked as a guest professor or jury in renowned institutions such as the Opéra Bastille or the CNSMDP.
His discography includes several CDs produced for the Epr-classic Label. In 2007 the CD / DVD Bach – Buxtehude with the great organs of Saint-Martin de Vertus and Saint-Remi de Reims was released. His recordings on the clavichord: the Goldberg Variations by JS Bach (2010) and Bach and Sons, sonatas for flute and forced keyboard of the Bach family with Jacques-Antoine Bresch in the traverso (2011) were a great public success and were acclaimed by critics international, especially in France with 5 tuning forks.
–
