Reicha: Bläzerkonzerte

While Joseph Haydn is almost universally acknowledged as the inventor of the string quartet, Antonín Reicha (1770–1836), a contemporary of Beethoven, is generally credited with being the inventor of the wind quintet, elevating it to a position of respect and prominence that would rival that of the string quartet. The quintets aside, there are many other works of Reicha that have disappeared from view in the century-and-a-half plus since his death. The son of a military Kapellmeister, Reicha faced an uncertain future following his father’s death in 1771. After some basic musical instruction, the boy exhibited a gift for music. Eventually his uncle took custody of him, relocating the boy to the court of Oettingen-Wallerstein, where he was adopted by his uncle, given a loving home environment and a broad-based education that included musical instruction with one of Reicha’s compatriots, Antonín Rössler, also known as Antonio Rosetti. The environment at Oettingen-Wallerstein was one of