Anton Reicha, also called Antonin Rejcha, was born on February 26, 1770 in Prague and died on May 28, 1836 in Paris. His father, a baker, died when Anton was not even a year old. At the age of 11, in 1781, the boy moved to Wallerstein with his uncle Joseph Reicha, who, although childless himself, raised his nephew as his own child. Under his uncle's care, Anton, who previously only spoke Czech, acquired a comprehensive education, learning German, French and showing zeal in the study of flute, violin and piano. It is not known exactly to what extent his uncle taught him. Together with him, Anton entered the chapel of Elector Maximilian of Cologne in Bonn. In 1790 he is mentioned here as a violinist and appeared as a flautist in the Cologne National Theater. In the chapel he became friends with Beethoven and got to know works from the Mannheim School and Viennese Classicism, but especially French operas, which encouraged his preference for wind instruments.
In 1790 Reicha met Joseph Haydn, who visited Bonn on his first trip to London. When the band was dissolved after the outbreak of the French Revolution, Antonín Reicha left his uncle Joseph and moved to Hamburg in 1794, where he taught privately. In 1799, Reicha moved to Paris, attracted by the French capital's flourishing musical life and liberal conditions. In the winter of 1801/02 he left the city and went to Vienna. There he was warmly welcomed by Haydn and completed his compositional training with him as well as with Albrechtsberger and Salieri. He also reestablished friendly relations with Beethoven. Reicha rejected the offer of the Kapellmeister position with Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia. He enjoyed widespread recognition as a composition teacher.
In October 1808 he finally moved to Paris, but despite his best efforts, his operas were not well received. His instrumental works, particularly the wind quintets, achieved lasting success and he achieved a high reputation as a teacher. A professorship was set up especially for him at the Paris Conservatoire, which he took up on January 1, 1818. He was a member of the Comité d'enseignement along with Cherubini, Paër, Lesueur, Berton and Boieldieu. In addition to his compositions, his theoretical writings were also published. In 1819, Reicha married a French woman, and in 1829 he took French citizenship. For his services to music he was made a Knight of the Legion of Honor in 1831 and on March 23, 1835, as Boieldieu's successor, a member of the Institut de France. Shortly afterwards he became seriously ill and died.
His students included Adam, Onslow, Liszt, Berlioz, Dancla, G. Franck, J. G. Kastner and others.
