Reicha, Joseph

Preface

Joseph Reicha

Concerto for Two Horns and Orchestra in E-flat Major

(b. Chuděnice, near Klatovy (Klattau), 12 February 1752 – d. Bonn, 5 March 1795)

Although today overshadowed by the accomplishments of his nephew, Anton Reicha (1770-1836), Joseph Reicha was an accomplished cellist and well-respected composer of the second half of the eighteenth century. He received his early musical training in Prague, where he took cello lessons from Franz Joseph Werner. In April 1774, at the age of twenty- two, Reicha was hired as a cellist for the newly created Hofkapelle of Kraft Ernst, Prince of Oettingen-Wallerstein. The prince’s residence, located in the Donau-Ries district of Germany, approximately forty-five miles north of Augsburg. Reicha’s superb talents were fully recognized by the prince, who granted him the title “Violoncellista virtuosus,” a special honor within the Hofkapelle. He was allowed permission to undertake several concert tours, which served to enhance his musical experiences as well as the reputation of his patron. On one such musical journey, Reicha was joined by the Wallerstein concertmaster and violinist, Anton Janitsch (ca. 1752-1812). Their travels brought them to Salzburg where they visited with the Mozart family. Unfortunately, Wolfgang was at this time on tour, but the Wallerstein musicians were warmly received by Leopold and his daughter. The elder Mozart later wrote to his son that both musicians “are very fine players” and in particular deemed Reicha “a first-rate fellow.”He added that while in Salzburg Reicha played a concerto of his own composition that was “quite good, with some new ideas and rather in your style” (Letter from Leopold to Wolfgang Mozart, January 29, 1778).
According to the Wallerstein parish church records on January 29, 1779 Reicha married Lucie Certelet (d. 1801) from Metz. Certelet was hired in 1776 to care for the prince’s young daughter. Although Reicha and his wife never had any chil- dren of their own, in 1781 their household was enlarged by the arrival of his eleven-year-old nephew, Anton, who, since the death of his father in 1770, had been living with relatives in Prague. Joseph Reicha became his nephew’s guardian and music teacher.Later in life, Anton wrote an autobiographical sketch in which he described his uncle as “an excellent musician” who played “in a masterly style” the violin and keyboard in addition to cello. Sometime around 1779 or early
1780, Reicha was appointed Hofkapellmeister in preparation for a complete overhaul of court music.
In 1784, Maximilian Franz (1756-1801), the youngest child of Maria Theresa and Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, be- came Archbishop-Elector of Cologne.A passionate devotee of music, Maximilian Franz set about immediately to enrich the Kapelle of the electoral court. He hired Reicha—first as concertmaster and then director of the court orchestra. In April 1785 the Reicha family left Wallerstein and relocated to Bonn. Among the members of the orchestra under Reicha’s direction was the young Beethoven. Five years later, the elector founded a new Nationaltheater and appointed Reicha its music director. In October 1794, French troops occupied Bonn, and the electoral court was disbanded. Although only forty-two years old, Reicha was in poor health, suffering severely from gout. According to Johann Friedrich Reichardt’s Musikalische Monatsschrift (July 1792), Reicha had ceased to perform in public in 1791 and was able to move around only with the aid of crutches. Reicha‘s condition continued to worsen and he died on March 5 1795.
Reicha’s court appointments in Wallerstein and later in Bonn brought him in contact with some of the best musicians of his day. He benefitted from these associations in a number of ways, but most especially in the refinement of his skill as a composer. It was not uncommon in this period for performers to also compose solo music for their instrument. Some- times, these are brilliant, but more often they ended up being uninspired mélanges of passage work and empty virtuoso display. This is, however, not the case with Reicha, whose musical compositions show careful workmanship and creative imagination.
Reicha’s oeuvre numbers approximately forty-two instrumental compositions, including a set of the symphonies pub- lished in 1784 by the Bonn music publisher, Nicolaus Simrock.1 Not surprisingly, Reicha also composed ten concertos for cello, his principal instrument, half of which have not survived, as well as several concertante works and chamber pieces involving various instruments. Wallerstein boasted one of the best Harmonie ensembles of the period, for which house composers created a substantial body of original wind partitas. Between 1781 and 1785 Reicha contributed twelve such works to this repertory. His music for winds also includes two concertos for flute and the double concerto for two horns and orchestra which is the subject of these notes….

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