View source for Anton Reicha

{{Short description|Czech-born French composer (1770–1836)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
[[File:Anton Reicha (portrait attributed to Eleonore Anne Steuben).jpg|thumb|Anton Reicha, 19th century]]
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'''Anton''' (Antonín, Antoine) '''Joseph Reicha''' (Rejcha) (26 February 1770 – 28 May 1836) was a Czech-born, Bavarian-educated, later [[naturalization|naturalized]] French composer and music theorist.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music|pages=735}}</ref> A contemporary and friend of [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]], he is now best remembered for his substantial early contributions to the [[wind quintet]] literature and his role as teacher of pupils including [[Franz Liszt]], [[Hector Berlioz]] and [[César Franck]]. He was also an accomplished [[music theory|theorist]], and wrote several treatises on various aspects of composition. Some of his theoretical work dealt with experimental methods of composition, which he applied in a variety of works such as [[fugue]]s and [[étude]]s for piano and [[string quartet]].

None of the advanced ideas he advocated in the most radical of his music and writings, such as [[polyrhythm]], [[polytonality]] and [[microtonal music]], were accepted or employed by other nineteenth-century composers. Due to Reicha's unwillingness to have his music published (like [[Michael Haydn]] before him), he fell into obscurity soon after his death and his life and work have yet to be intensively studied.

== Life ==

=== 1770–1805: early years, first visit to Paris and the Viennese period ===
Reicha was born in [[Prague]]. His father Šimon, the [[Alta cappella|town piper]] of the city, died when Anton was just 10 months old.<ref name=GC415>{{cite book |title=Československý hudební slovník II. M–Ž |editor1-last=Černušák |editor1-first=Gracián |editor2-last=Štědroň|editor2-first=Bohumír|editor3-last=Nováček|editor3-first=Zdenko |year=1963 |publisher=Státní hudební vydavatelství |location=Prague |page=415 |language=cs}}</ref> Apparently Reicha's mother was not interested in her son's education, and so in 1780 he ran away from home following a sudden impulse – as he recounted in his memoirs, he jumped onto a passing carriage.<ref name=Hoyt>{{cite journal|journal=[[Notes (journal)|Notes]]|series=Second Series|publisher=Music Library Association|title=Review of Olga Sotolova's ''Antonin Rejcha'' (Deryck Viney, translator)|last=Hoyt|first=Peter A.|volume=49|issue=3|date=March 1993|pages=996–998|doi=10.2307/898945|jstor=898945}}</ref> He first visited his paternal grandfather in [[Klatovy]] (in the [[Plzeň Region]]), and then his paternal uncle [[Josef Reicha]], a virtuoso cellist, conductor and composer living in [[Wallerstein, Bavaria]], who adopted him.<ref name=GC415 /> Josef and his wife, being childless, could give young Anton their full attention: Josef taught him violin and piano, his wife insisted on him being taught French and German, and he was also taught the [[flute]].{{sfn|Demuth|1948|p=166}}

In 1785 the family moved to [[Bonn]], where Reicha became a member of the [[Hofkapelle]] of [[Archduke Maximilian Franz of Austria|Max Franz]], [[list of bishops and archbishops of Cologne|Elector of Cologne]], playing violin and second [[flute]] in the court orchestra under his uncle's direction.<ref name=GC415 /> The young [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]] entered the Hofkapelle as violist and organist in 1789 and Reicha befriended him. [[Christian Gottlob Neefe]], one of the most important figures in the musical life of the city at the time, may well have instructed both Reicha and his gifted piano pupil Beethoven in composition and introduced them to the works of [[Johann Sebastian Bach]], such as ''[[The Well-Tempered Clavier]]''.

From about 1785 Reicha studied composition secretly, against his uncle's wishes, composing and conducting his first [[symphony]] in 1787 and entering the [[University of Bonn]] in 1789, where he studied and performed until 1794, when Bonn was attacked and captured by the French. He managed to escape to [[Hamburg]],<ref name=GC415 /> vowed never to perform in public again and began to earn a living teaching harmony, composition and piano. He continued composing and studied [[mathematics]], philosophy and, significantly, methods of teaching composition. In 1799 he moved to Paris, hoping to achieve success as an opera composer. These hopes were dashed, however: he could neither get his old librettos accepted nor find suitable new ones despite support from friends and influential members of the aristocracy, and moved on to [[Vienna]] in 1801.

Once there, like Beethoven and the young [[Franz Schubert|Schubert]], he studied with [[Antonio Salieri]] and [[Johann Georg Albrechtsberger]].<ref name=GC415 /> Both were renowned teachers, and Albrechtsberger was also an important theorist and acknowledged authority on [[counterpoint]] and [[fugal]] theory. Reicha called on [[Joseph Haydn|Haydn]], whom he had met several times in Bonn and Hamburg during the 1790s, and renewed his friendship with Beethoven, whom he had not seen since 1792, when the latter moved from Bonn to Vienna. At this time (late 1802–1803) [[Symphony No. 3 (Beethoven)|Beethoven's Eroica symphony]] was in gestation, and it is likely that the two men exchanged ideas on fugues in modern composition.<ref name=Riceweb>{{cite web|url=https://sites.google.com/site/johnaricecv/beethoven-reicha-and-the-eroica|title=Beethoven, Reicha, and the Eroica|first=John A.|last=Rice|author-link=John A. Rice (musicologist)|access-date=30 August 2018|archive-date=6 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206190228/https://sites.google.com/site/johnaricecv/beethoven-reicha-and-the-eroica|url-status=dead}}</ref> Reicha's move to Vienna marked the beginning of a more productive and successful period in his life. As he wrote in his memoirs, "The number of works I finished in Vienna is astonishing. Once started, my verve and imagination were indefatigable. Ideas came to me so rapidly it was often difficult to set them down without losing some of them. I always had a great penchant for doing the unusual in composition. When writing in an original vein, my creative faculties and spirit seemed keener than when following the precepts of my predecessors."<ref name="drummondweb">Reicha's autobiography, ''Notes sur Antoine Reicha'', quoted in [[Ron Drummond]], [http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/articles/reicha/quartets/sounding3.html "Program Notes for a Performance of Antonín Rejcha's C Minor String Quartet"].</ref> In 1801, Reicha's opera ''L'ouragan'', which failed in Paris, was performed at the palace of Prince [[Joseph Franz von Lobkowitz]], a prominent patron of Beethoven. Empress [[Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily|Maria Theresa (of Naples and Sicily)]] commissioned another opera after this performance, ''Argine, regina di Granata'', which was only privately performed. His studies in Hamburg came to fruition here with the publication of several semi-didactic, encyclopedic works such as ''[[36 Fugues (Reicha)|36 Fugues for piano]]'' (published in 1803, dedicated to Haydn)<ref name=GC415 /> and ''[[L'art de varier]]'', a large-scale [[variation form|variation]] cycle (composed in 1803/04 for [[Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia (1772–1806)|Prince Louis Ferdinand]]), and the treatise ''Practische Beispiele'' (published in 1803), which contained 24 compositions.

=== 1806–1836: departure from Vienna and life in Paris ===
Reicha's life and career in Vienna were interrupted by [[Napoleon]]'s November 1805 occupation of the city by French troops. In 1806 Reicha travelled to [[Leipzig]] to arrange a performance of his new work, the cantata ''Lenore'' (stopping at Prague to see his mother for the first time since 1780), but because Leipzig was blockaded by the French, not only was the performance cancelled but he could not return to Vienna for several months. When he did return it was not for long, because by 1808 the [[Austrian Empire]] was already preparing for another war, the [[War of the Fifth Coalition]], so Reicha decided to move back to Paris.<ref name=GC415 /> He was soon teaching composition privately, future prolific composer [[George Onslow (composer)|George Onslow]] being one of his pupils by 1808. This time three of his many operas were produced, but they all failed; yet his fame as theorist and teacher increased steadily, and by 1817 most of his pupils became professors at the [[Conservatoire de Paris]]. The following year, Reicha himself was appointed professor of [[counterpoint]] and [[fugue]] at the Conservatoire with the support of [[Louis XVIII]], despite opposition from its influential professor of composition and (from 1822) director [[Luigi Cherubini]].{{sfn|Stove|2012|p=21}}

[[File:AntonReicha.jpg|thumb|upright|Anton Reicha's gravestone at [[Père Lachaise Cemetery|Père Lachaise]], Paris]]

This second Paris period produced several important theoretical writings. ''Cours de composition musicale'', published by 1818, became the standard text on composition at the Conservatoire; the ''Traité de mélodie'' of 1814, a treatise on [[melody]], was also widely studied. Another semi-didactic work, ''34 Études for piano'', was published by 1817. It was also in Paris that Reicha started composing the 25 [[wind quintet]]s which proved to be his most enduring works:<ref name=GC415 /> far more conservative musically than the experimental fugues he had written in Vienna, but exploiting the skill of his virtuosi from the [[Opéra Comique]] to extend significantly the technique and musical ambitions of future players of the still evolving wind instruments. In 1818 he married Virginie Enaust, who bore him two daughters. Around this time he taught composition to the future pioneer of the modern oboe [[Henri Brod]], and in 1819 he began teaching harmony and music theory to [[Louise Farrenc]]; after interrupting her studies for her own marriage, she completed studies at the Paris Conservatory with Reicha in 1825.<ref>{{cite book|first = Bea|last = Friedland|title=Louise Farrenc, 1804–1875: Composer, Performer, Scholar|publisher=UMI Research Press|date=1980|pages=10–14 | isbn=0-8357-1111-0}}</ref>

Reicha stayed in Paris for the rest of his life. He became a [[naturalized citizen]] of his adopted country in 1829{{sfn|Demuth|1948|p=167}} and Chevalier of the [[Légion d'honneur]] in 1835. That same year, he succeeded [[François-Adrien Boieldieu]] at the [[Académie des beaux-arts]]. He published two more large treatises, ''Traité de haute composition musicale'' (1824–1826) (Treatise on advanced musical composition) and ''Art du compositeur dramatique'' (1833) (Art of dramatic composition), on writing opera. His ideas expressed in the former work sparked some controversy at the Conservatoire. In 1826 [[Franz Liszt]], [[Hector Berlioz]] and [[Henri Cohen (composer)|Henri Cohen]] became students of his, as did composers [[Charles Gounod]] and [[Pauline Viardot]]<ref>{{cite book|first1 = Diane Peacock|last1 = Jezic|first2 = Elizabeth|last2 = Wood|title=Women Composers: The Lost Tradition Found|publisher=Feminist Press at the University of New York|date=1994|page=103|isbn=1-55861-074-X}}</ref> sometime later. Berlioz in his ''Memoirs''<ref name="Berliozmem">Berlioz, Hector, translated by [[David Cairns (writer)|Cairns, David]] (1865, 1912, 2002). ''The Memoirs of Hector Berlioz''. Hardback. [[Everyman's Library]]/[[Random House]]. {{ISBN|0-375-41391-X}} pp. 20–21</ref> acknowledges that Reicha was 'an admirable teacher of counterpoint' who cared about his pupils and whose 'lessons were models of integrity and thoroughness' – high praise indeed from one so critical of the Conservatoire in general. [[Frédéric Chopin]] considered studying with him in December 1831 shortly after arriving in Paris from his native Poland, but ultimately decided otherwise. From June 1835 until Reicha's death in May 1836, the young [[César Franck]] took private lessons. His notebooks survive (in the [[Bibliothèque Nationale]] in Paris) with Reicha's annotations (and a later cryptic comment possibly by [[Erik Satie]]),{{sfn|Stove|2012|pp=22–23}} showing how hard Reicha worked his 13-year-old pupil. Reicha was buried at the [[Père Lachaise Cemetery]], and [[Luigi Cherubini]] resumed the teaching of counterpoint at the Conservatoire, replacing Reicha's heretical work on fugue with his own as the standard text.

== Works ==
{{main|List of compositions by Anton Reicha}}

It is difficult to present a coherent [[List of compositions by Anton Reicha|list of Reicha's works]], because the opus numbers assigned to them at the time of publication are in disarray, some pieces were supposedly lost, and many works were published several times, sometimes as part of larger collections. His surviving oeuvre covers a vast array of genres and forms, from opera to piano [[fugue]]s. He is best known today for his 25 [[wind quintet]]s, composed in Paris between 1811 and 1820, which were mostly premiered from 1817 in the foyer of the [[Salle Favart|Théâtre Favart]] by some of the world's finest wind soloists,<ref name="Humphries">{{cite web|url=https://www.naxos.com/mainsite/blurbs_reviews.asp?item_code=8.550432&catNum=550432&filetype=About%20this%20Recording&language=English|publisher=Naxos.com|title=John Humphries' liner note for CD 8.550432 by Michael Thompson Wind Quintet|access-date=19 November 2019}}</ref> to such effect that they were played all over Europe shortly afterward. Reicha claimed in his memoirs that his wind quintets filled a void: "At that time, there was a dearth not only of good classic[al] music, but of any good music at all for wind instruments, simply because the composers knew little of their technique."<ref>Reicha's autobiography, ''Notes sur Antoine Reicha'', quoted in [[Bill McGlaughlin]]'s "A World of Winds: Making Your Own Quintet – The Father of the Wind Quintet", see [http://saintpaulsunday.publicradio.org/features/9910_reicha/]</ref> Indeed, Reicha's experiences as a [[flautist]] must have helped in the creation of these pieces, in which he systematically explored the possibilities of the wind ensemble and invented an extended [[sonata form]] variant that could accommodate as many as five principal themes.<ref>Ron Drummond, [http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/articles/reicha/bio.html "Anton Reicha: A Biographical Sketch"]</ref> Reicha wrote his first experimental quintet in 1811; the 'incomparably superior' first two of the later published quintets of Opus 88 were written by 1814 after further study of the instruments and collaboration with his players, with the remaining four completed before publication in 1817. Three further sets of six were published as Opus 91 in 1818, Opus 99 in 1819 and Opus 100 in 1820.<ref name="Humphries" />

[[File:Reicha - Etudes ou exercices - No. 20, on four staves, opening.jpg|thumb|350px|The final piano exercise of Reicha's Op. 30, featuring two staves of music for each hand, and four different clefs]]

Musically, the wind quintets represent a more conservative trend in Reicha's oeuvre when compared to his earlier work, namely the compositions of the [[Vienna|Viennese]] period. In the quintets, as he describes in his preface, Reicha wanted to expand the technical limits of the five still evolving wind instruments (hand horn, 'un-rationalised' flute and clarinet, double reeds with fewer keys), and thereby also the ambitions of amateur wind players, by establishing a nucleus for a corpus of substantial work like that available to string players (and consciously more serious than the [[Harmonie]]musik of the last century). His writing combines virtuoso display (often still very challenging today, yet idiomatic for each instrument), popular elements (from the comic opera his soloists played, from his Bohemian folk heritage, from the military background to his life – many marches, 'walking' themes and fanfares), and his lifelong more academic interests in variation form and counterpoint. Four of the quintets have trios in [[passacaglia]] form, the repeating theme however being on different instruments in each case so not necessarily in the bass. The earlier Beethoven connection, now severed,<ref name="Riceweb" /> is revisited in the scherzo of the quintet in E-flat Op. 100 no. 3, which contains clear musical quotations (most obvious in the horn part) from both the scherzo of his [[Symphony No. 3 (Beethoven)|Eroica]] (also in [[E-flat major]]) and the first movement of his [[Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)|5th]] symphonies. Berlioz<ref name="Berliozmem" /> says the quintets "enjoyed a certain vogue in Paris for a number of years. They are interesting pieces but a little cold", while [[Louis Spohr]], who was visiting Paris in 1820–21 and reserved judgment until he had heard several performed, assessed them in a letter home (which he included in his autobiography) as having too many ideas linked carelessly or not at all ("were he less rich, he would be richer"), "yet the minuets and scherzi, as short pieces, are less open to this objection, and some of them are real masterpieces in form and contents".<ref>{{cite book|last=Spohr|first=Louis|title=Louis Spohr's Autobiography|location=London|publisher=Longman, republished Travis & Emery Music Bookshop(2010)|year=1865|isbn=978-1-84955-111-3|page=131}}</ref> Spohr was generally impressed by the virtuosity of the wind soloists and was very pleased with their performance of his own piano and wind quintet. Berlioz<ref name="Berliozmem" /> also comments on two of the players (in other works): "{{interlanguage link|Joseph Guillou|de|Joseph_Guillou}}, the first flute...has to dominate...so he transposes the flute line up an octave, thus destroying the composer's intention" (p.&nbsp;56); of [[Gustave Vogt]]'s [[cor anglais]] playing he says (p.&nbsp;23): "However remarkable the singer...I find it hard to believe she can ever have made it sound as natural and touching as it did on Vogt's instrument". Reicha was particularly close personally to the horn player [[Louis François Dauprat|L-F Dauprat]], who was nominated by the family's lawyer as a surrogate guardian to Reicha's two daughters at his death.{{sfn|Bernard de Raymond|2013|p=22}}

Technical wizardry also prevails in compositions that illustrate Reicha's theoretical treatise ''Practische Beispiele'' (Practical Examples) of 1803, where techniques such as [[bitonality]] and [[polyrhythm]] are explored in extremely difficult [[sight-reading]] exercises.{{sfn|Demuth|1948|p=171}} ''[[36 Fugues (Reicha)|36 fugues for piano]]'', published in 1803, was conceived as an illustration of Reicha's ''neue Fugensystem'', i.e. those new ideas about [[fugues]] which had piqued Beethoven.<ref name="Riceweb" /> Reicha proposed that second entries of fugue subjects in major keys could occur in keys other than the standard [[dominant (music)|dominant]]), to widen the possibilities for [[modulation (music)|modulations]] and undermine the conservative [[tonality|tonal]] stability of the fugue.<ref>{{cite book|last=Walker|first=Alan|author-link=Alan Walker (musicologist)|title=Franz Liszt: Volume One, the Virtuoso Years, 1811–1847|location=Ithaca, NY|publisher=Cornell University Press|year=1987|isbn=0-8014-9421-4|page=94}}</ref> The fugues of the collection not only illustrate this point, but also employ a variety of extremely convoluted technical tricks such as polyrhythm (no. 30), combined (nos. 24, 28), asymmetrical (no. 20) and simply uncommon (no. 10 is in 12/4, no. 12 in 2/8) [[meter (music)|meter]]s and [[time signature]]s, some of which are derived from folk music, an approach that directly anticipates that of later composers such as [[Béla Bartók]].<ref>Václav Jan Sýkora. Preface to an edition of ''36 Fugues for Piano'', Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1973, Nos. 19117–19119.</ref> No. 13 is a [[musical mode|modal]] fugue played on white keys only, in which [[cadence (music)|cadence]]s are possible on all but the 7th degree of the scale without further [[alteration (music)|alteration]]. Six fugues employ two subjects, one has three, and No. 15 has six. In several of the fugues, Reicha established a link with the old tradition by using subjects by [[Joseph Haydn|Haydn]] (no. 3), [[Johann Sebastian Bach|Bach]] (no. 5), [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]] (no. 7), [[Domenico Scarlatti|Scarlatti]] (no. 9), [[Girolamo Frescobaldi|Frescobaldi]] (no. 14) and [[George Frideric Handel|Handel]] (no. 15). Many of the technical accomplishments are unique to fugue literature.

[[File:Reicha - Fugue a 6 sujets, opening (2 staves) (facsimile).jpg|thumb|left|350px|Fugue No. 15 from ''36 Fugues'' of 1803 features six subjects developed simultaneously]]

The [[étude]]s of op. 97, ''Études dans le genre fugué'', published in Paris by 1817, are similarly advanced. Each composition is preceded by Reicha's comments for young composers. Thirty of the 34 études included are fugues, and every étude is preceded by a prelude based on a particular technical or compositional problem. Again an exceptionally large number of forms and textures is used, including, for example, the [[variation form]] with extensive use of [[invertible counterpoint]] (no. 3), or an Andante in C minor based on the famous [[Folia]] harmonic progression. Reicha's massive cycle of variations, ''[[L'art de varier]]'', uses the same pedagogical principle and includes variations in the form of four-voice fugues, [[program music]] variations, [[toccata]]-like hand-crossing variations, etc., foreshadowing in many aspects not only [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]]'s ''[[Diabelli Variations]]'', but also works by Schubert, [[Wagner]] and [[Debussy]].<ref>Jan Racek. Foreword to the critical edition of "L'art de varier", Praha: Státní hudební vydavatelství, 1961</ref>

Many of Reicha's [[string quartet]]s are similarly advanced, and also anticipate numerous later developments. The eight Vienna string quartets (1801–1805) are among his most important works. Though largely ignored since Reicha's death, they were highly influential during his lifetime and left their mark on the quartets of Beethoven and Schubert,<ref>[[Ron Drummond]]: [http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/articles/reicha/quartets/index.html "The String Quartets of Anton Reicha – Introduction"]</ref> much as [[Johann Sebastian Bach|Bach]]'s ''[[Well-Tempered Clavier]]'' was ignored by the public but well known to Beethoven and Chopin. Reicha also wrote prolifically for various kinds of ensembles other than wind quintets and string quartets, including [[violin sonata]]s, [[piano trio]]s, [[Horn (instrument)|horn]] trios, [[flute]] quartets, various works for solo wind or string instruments accompanied by strings, and works for voice. He also wrote in larger-scale genres, including at least eight known [[symphony|symphonies]], seven operas, and choral works such as a [[Requiem]].

Much of Reicha's music remained unpublished and/or unperformed during his life, and virtually all of it fell into obscurity after his death. This is partly explained by Reicha's own decisions he reflected on in his autobiography: "Many of my works have never been heard because of my aversion to seeking performances [...] I counted the time spent in such efforts as lost, and preferred to remain at my desk."<ref name="drummondweb" /> He also frequently advocated ideas, such as the use of [[quarter tone]]s, that were too far ahead of his time to be understood by his contemporaries.{{sfn|Demuth|1948|pp=169–170}}

== Writings ==
{{more citations needed|section|date=February 2018}}
Reicha's major theoretical and pedagogical works include the following:
* ''Practische Beispiele: ein Beitrag zur Geistescultur des Tonsetzers ... begleitet mit philosophisch-practischen Anmerkungen'' (1803), a didactic work that includes 25 sight-reading exercises of extreme difficulty, some of which were later published separately or in collections such as the ''[[36 Fugues (Reicha)|36 fugues]]''. The exercises are divided into three groups: one for polyrhythm, one for polytonality and one that included exercises written on four [[staff (music)|stave]]s and so required knowledge of the alto and tenor [[clef]]s.
* ''{{lang|fr|Traité de mélodie}}'' (Paris, 1814), on melody, translated into German by [[Carl Czerny|Czerny]]
* ''{{lang|fr|Cours de composition musicale, ou Traité complet et raisonné d'harmonie pratique}}'' (1818), on composition, translated into German by Czerny (From Chapter 9 of Czerny's Letters to a Young Lady: "My view was only to give you a general idea of Harmony or Thorough Bass; and when you begin the study of it in a regular manner – and I hear with pleasure that you are shortly about to do so, and that your worthy teacher has selected for the purpose the excellent Treatise on Harmony by Reicha...")
* ''{{lang|fr|Traité de haute composition musicale}}'' (2 vols. 1824–1826), translated into German by Czerny around 1835. In this late treatise Reicha expressed some of his most daring ideas, such as the use of [[quarter tone]]s and folk music (which was almost completely neglected at the time).{{sfn|Demuth|1948|p=172}} An article in this treatise deals with the problem of irregular [[Resolution (music)|resolution]] of [[Consonance and dissonance|dissonant]] chords, formulating a simple law for its successful employment; this article was so innovative and celebrated, that it was published even by itself in the past and in the present, the latest English translation being the one by Lorenzo M. A. Giorgi (''A new theory for the resolution of discords, according to the Modern Musical System'', 2017).<ref>{{Cite book|title=A new theory for the resolution of discords, according to the Modern Musical System|last=Giorgi|first=Lorenzo MA|publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform|year=2017|isbn=978-1546308607}}</ref>
* ''{{lang|fr|L'art du compositeur dramatique}}'' (4 vols., 1833), on the writing of opera. Provides an exhaustive account of contemporary performance techniques and is supplemented with examples from Reicha's own operas.
{{listen|type=music
 | filename    = Reicha_-_Grand Duo_-_Lento.ogg
 | title       = Grand Duo – Lento
 | description = Performed by [[Felix Skowronek]] (flute) and Marshall Winslow (piano)
 | filename2    = Anton Reicha - Variations for Bassooon.ogg
 | title2       = Variations for bassoon and a string quartet, transcription for bassoon and piano
 | description2 = Performed by [[Arthur Grossman]] (bassoon) and Neil O'Doan (piano)
}}
In addition to these, a number of smaller texts by him exist. These include an outline of Reicha's system for writing fugues, ''Über das neue Fugensystem'' (published as a foreword to the 1805 edition of ''36 fugues''), ''Sur la musique comme art purement sentimental'' (before 1814, literally "On music as a purely emotional art"), ''Petit traité d'harmonie pratique à 2 parties'' (c. 1814, a short "practical treatise" on harmony), a number of articles and the poem ''An Joseph Haydn'', published in the preface to ''36 fugues'' (which were dedicated to Haydn).

== Notable recordings ==
* ''[[24 Horn Trios (Reicha)|Horn Trios]]'' (1980). [[Zdeněk Tylšar]], [[Bedřich Tylšar]], Emanuel Hrdina. Supraphon, VT 2976-2<ref>{{cite web |title=Rejcha: Tria pro lesní rohy – Zdeněk Tylšar, Bedřich Tylšar, Emanuel Hrdina |url=https://www.supraphonline.cz/album/286783-rejcha-tria-pro-lesni-rohy |website=Supraphon |access-date=26 April 2023 |language=cs}}</ref>
* ''Complete Wind Quintets'' (1990). The Albert Schweitzer Quintet. 10 CDs, CPO, 9992502<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/CPO/9992502|title=Reicha's Wind Quintets|website=Presto Classical|access-date=12 June 2016}}</ref>
* ''36 Fugues Op. 36'' (1991–1992). Tiny Wirtz (piano). 2 CDs, CPO 999 065-2<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=92560|title=Reicha: 36 Fugues, Op. 36|website=ArkivMusic|access-date=12 June 2016|archive-date=20 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220102036/http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=92560|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* ''Octet op. 96'' (1992) Dieter Klöcker, Consortium Classicum. CD. Orfeo C282921A.<ref>{{cite web | title=Reicha: Octet op. 96/Blanc: Septet op. 40 | website=Presto Music | url=https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/7943897--reicha-octet-blanc-septet }}</ref>
* ''Clarinet Quintet'' (1995). Charles Neidich (clarinet), l'Archibudelli. CD. Sony Vivarte SK 57968 <ref>{{cite web | title=Carl Maria von Weber, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Anton Reicha, Charles Neidich, L'Archibudelli – Clarinet Quintets & Quartet – CD (Stereo), 1995 [r15763469] | website=Discogs | date=2021-04-25 | url=https://www.discogs.com/release/15763469-Carl-Maria-von-Weber-Johann-Nepomuk-Hummel-Anton-Reicha-Charles-Neidich-LArchibudelli-Clarinet-Quint }}</ref>
* ''Quintets for Winds and String Quartet, Orchestral Works'' (1995, 1999). Consortium Classicum, Symphony Orchestra Wuppertal. 4 CDs, MDG. 301 2179-2
* ''Te Deum'' (1995). Kühn Mixed Chorus, [[Prague Symphony Orchestra]], [[Václav Smetáček]], conductor. CD. Panton 80 0242-2 211
* ''Complete Wind Quintets'' (2005–2012). The Westwood Wind Quintet. 12 CDs, Crystal Records, CD260<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.crystalrecords.com/Reicha060403.html|title=Complete Recordings of Reicha's Wind Quintets by Westwood Wind Quintet|website=Crystal Records|access-date=12 June 2016}}</ref>
* ''36 Fugues'' (2006). Jaroslav Tůma (fortepiano [[Anton Walter]], 1790). 2 CDs, ARTA F101462<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/Reicha-36-Fugues-Piano-Anton/dp/B0017KVT2U|title=Reicha: 36 Fugues for Piano|website=Amazon|access-date=12 June 2016}}</ref>
* ''Complete Symphonies'' (2011). Ondřej Kukal conducting Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra. 2 CDs, Radioservis, CR0572-2<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/Reicha-Four-Symphonies-Antonin/dp/B007SNY7EM|title=Reicha: Four Symphonies|website=Amazon|access-date=12 June 2016}}</ref>
* ''Musique de Chambre'' (2017). Solistes de la Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth. 3 CDs, ALPHA369<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8359027--reicha-musique-de-chambre |title=Reicha: Musique de Chambre|website=Presto Music |access-date=7 August 2022}}</ref>
* ''Reicha Rediscovered, Volume 1'' (2017). [[Ivan Ilić (pianist)|Ivan Ilić]] (piano). 1 CD, CHAN 10950<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp;jsessionid=EE07A27CA45875DADFD6BB9DF8042256?album_id=2259102|title=Reicha Rediscovered, Volume 1|website=ArkivMusic|access-date=12 September 2017|archive-date=12 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912191908/http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp;jsessionid=EE07A27CA45875DADFD6BB9DF8042256?album_id=2259102|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* ''Reicha Rediscovered, Volume 2, Études dans le genre Fugué, Op.97 Nos 1–13'' (2018). Ivan Ilić (piano). 1 CD, CHAN 20033<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chandos.net/products/catalogue/CHAN%2020033|title=Reicha Rediscovered, Volume 2|website=Chandos|access-date=4 February 2021}}</ref>
* ''Reicha Rediscovered, Volume 3, L'Art de varier ou 57 variations pour le piano, Op. 57'' (2021). Ivan Ilić (piano). 1 CD, CHAN 20194<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chandos.net/products/catalogue/CHAN%2020194|title=Reicha Rediscovered, Volume 3|website=Chandos|access-date=4 February 2021}}</ref>
{{Clear}}

==Notes==
<references />

'''Sources'''
* {{cite book|last=Bernard de Raymond|first=Louise|editor-last1=Schneider|editor-first1=Herbert|editor-last2=Bartoli|editor-first2=Jean-Pierre|year=2013|title=Antoine Reicha, compositeur et théoricien|type=Actes du Colloque international tenu à Paris du 18 au 20 avril 2013|publisher=Olms Verlag|isbn=978-3-4871-5096-3}}
* {{cite journal|last=Demuth|first=Norman|author-link=Norman Demuth|title=Antonin Reicha|journal=[[Music & Letters]]|volume=29|issue=2|date=April 1948|pages=165–172|doi=10.1093/ml/XXIX.2.165|jstor= 730884}}
*{{cite book|last=Stove|first=R. J.|author-link=R. J. Stove|year=2012|title=César Franck: His Life and Times|location=Lanham, Maryland|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-8207-2}}

==Further reading==
* Olga Šotolová, ''Antonín Rejcha: A Biography and Thematic Catalogue.'' Deryck Viney, translator. Supraphon, Prague, 1990. {{ISBN|80-7058-169-7}}. (The standard monograph on Reicha. Contains numerous errors, but is richly informative on many aspects of Reicha's life; see {{harvnb|Hoyt|1993}} above.)
* {{Cite Grove |last=Stone |first=Peter Eliot |title=Antoine Reicha|ref=none}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Anton Reicha}}

'''General reference'''
* {{cite web|url=http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/reicha.html|publisher=Classical.net|title=Anton Reicha|access-date=30 August 2018| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071214234249/http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/reicha.html| archive-date= 14 December 2007 | url-status= live}}
* [https://www.idrs.org/scores/Lehrer2/Reicha/Introduction_Reicha.html Essay on Anton Reicha by Charles-David Lehrer for the International Double Reed Society]
* [http://saintpaulsunday.publicradio.org/features/9910_reicha/ Bill McGlaughlin's article on Reicha for Saint Paul Sunday]
* [http://www.lvbeethoven.com/Bio/BiographyContemporary_AntonReicha.html Beethoven's Contemporaries: Anton Reicha]
* [http://www.beethoven-haus-bonn.de/sixcms/detail.php//doksuche_ergebnisse_digitales_archiv_en Letters] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311142451/http://beethoven-haus-bonn.de/sixcms/detail.php/doksuche_ergebnisse_digitales_archiv_en |date=11 March 2016 }} written by or concerning Reicha and [http://www.beethoven-haus-bonn.de/sixcms/detail.php//doksuche_ergebnisse_digitales_archiv_en portraits] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311142451/http://beethoven-haus-bonn.de/sixcms/detail.php/doksuche_ergebnisse_digitales_archiv_en |date=11 March 2016 }} of him in the Digital archives of the [[Beethoven House|Beethoven-Haus]], Bonn.
* [http://www.whitwellessays.com/docs/DOC_1218.doc Dr David Whitwell's essay on Reicha's pioneering composition for wind band, including extensive quotation from Berlioz' tribute to Reicha in his column for the ''Journal des débats'', 1836]
* {{cite web|url=https://www.naxos.com/mainsite/blurbs_reviews.asp?item_code=8.550432&catNum=550432&filetype=About%20this%20Recording&language=English|publisher=Naxos.com|title=John Humphries' liner note for CD 8.550432 by Michael Thompson Wind Quintet|access-date=19 November 2019}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051118105913/http://www.klassiekemuziekgids.net/componisten/reicha.htm Klassiekemuziek: Anton Reicha] {{in lang|nl}}

'''Scores'''
* {{IMSLP|id=Reicha, Anton|cname=Anton Reicha}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.kb.dk/en/nb/samling/ma/digmus/1800/reicha.html|title=Anton Reicha Wind Quintets: free scores|publisher=The Royal Library, Copenhagen|access-date=29 October 2008}}

{{Classical period (music)}}
{{Romantic music}}
{{Romanticism}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Reicha, Anton}}
[[Category:1770 births]]
[[Category:1836 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century classical composers]]
[[Category:19th-century French composers]]
[[Category:19th-century French male composers]]
[[Category:19th-century Czech non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Composers for piano]]
[[Category:Composers for flute]]
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[[Category:Czech male classical composers]]
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[[Category:Czech opera composers]]
[[Category:Czech Romantic composers]]
[[Category:French Romantic composers]]
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[[Category:Pupils of Antonio Salieri]]
[[Category:Pupils of Johann Georg Albrechtsberger]]
[[Category:University of Bonn alumni]]
[[Category:Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the Conservatoire de Paris]]
[[Category:18th-century composers from the Holy Roman Empire]]