Münchner Rundfunkorchester & Valentin Egel - Reicha: Complete Symphonies, Vol. 1 (2026) [Hi-Res]

In 1785, Antonín Reicha came to Bonn from Bohemia with his uncle Joseph to play the flute in the Elector's court orchestra there. It was here that he met Ludwig van Beethoven, ten months his junior, with whom he soon formed a friendship that outlasted their physical separation. While the former established himself in Vienna, the latter found the highest recognition as a composer and, above all, as a teacher in Paris: César Franck, Hector Berlioz, Louise Farrenc and Friedrich von Flotow are just some of the illustrious pupils who learned their skills from the clever Reicha, who knew all the technical tricks of the trade. What he himself achieved cannot easily be reduced to a common denominator. There are dozens of wind quintets, string quartets and other chamber music, highly original piano works as well as four symphonies and several overtures, the experiments of which would probably have elicited his famous "Homeric laughter" from his famous Viennese friend. How could they not, when pieces such as the overture, which can be heard on the first CD of our complete symphonic recording, even upset modern sensibilities with their constant metrical irritations - without it being possible to say why one is constantly miscounting ... Only repeated listening will help!