Johann Friedrich Reichardt (25 November 1752 – 27 June 1814) was a German composer, writer and music critic.
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Reichardt was born inKönigsberg,East Prussia, tolutenist andStadtmusiker Johann Reichardt (1720–1780). Johann Friedrich began his musical training, in violin, keyboard, andlute, as a child. Reichard's father was a student ofTimofey Belogradsky, who in turn was a student ofSylvius Leopold Weiss. When Reichardt was ten years old, his father took the choir in which he sang, the"Wunderknaben", on a concert tour inEast Prussia.
After being encouraged byImmanuel Kant, Reichardt later studiedJurisprudence and Philosophy in his hometown and inLeipzig from 1769 to 1771. In 1771, he escaped civil service by embarking on a Sturm-und-Drang tour as a virtuoso. He returned to Königsberg in 1774 and became theKammersekretär (Chamber Secretary) inRagnit. After Reichardt sent his operaLe feste galanti as a sample piece toFriedrich II, he was appointed to the position of the Royal Prussian CourtKapellmeister, a position previously held byCarl Heinrich Graun.
Two years later, he already withdrew from the job and married the singer, pianist andLieder composerJuliane Benda, a daughter ofFrantisek Benda. Of their progeny was one daughter,Louise Reichardt (11 April 1779, Berlin – 17 November 1826, Hamburg), who became a noted composer and singer, and a son, Wilhelm (1777–1782).
On the return from his first trip to Italy in 1783, Reichardt stopped inVienna, where he metKaiser Joseph II,Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart andChristoph Willibald Gluck. Further musical trips to France and England did not produce anticipated success; he therefore returned reluctantly to Berlin. In 1786, he developed close friendships withJohann Wolfgang von Goethe,Johann Gottfried Herder,Friedrich Schiller andJohann Georg Hamann. A small collection of his writings is in the hands of his family, specifically,Dagmar Reichardt (* 1961). During a visit to Augsburg in 1789, he met the composersNannette Streicher andAnna von Schaden.[1]
Further attempts to gain new ground in Paris failed, yet he had become zealous with revolutionary ideas. After the appearance of hisVertrauten Briefe (Intimate Letters) in 1792, he was released in 1794 without pay from his position as Court Kapellmeister for being sympathetic to theFrench Revolution. He lived first inHamburg, where he released the journalFrankreich, but from 1794, he lived in Giebichenstein nearHalle. In 1796, he was pardoned for his support of the revolution and appointed to the post of the director of the saline (salt mine) in Halle. From there, he often traveled to Berlin to lead the premieres of his compositions.
Another trip to Paris in 1802 lessened his fascination for the French and French politics considerably: he became an opponent ofNapoleon. Four years later, when his manor was plundered by French troops, he fled toDanzig where he was active as a patriot and freedom fighter. Napoleon's brotherJérôme, located inKassel, allowed Reichardt to return and named him to Theater Director in 1807. This lasted only nine months. In November 1808, he traveled to Vienna looking for success. After experiencing the music ofHaydn,Mozart andBeethoven, he became receptive to theViennese Classic, although he was too late. However, he soon returned to Giebichenstein where he died alone, from a gastric illness. His stage works were quickly forgotten after his death but his strophic Lieder and Balladsim Volkston (in folk style) enjoyed considerable popularity beyond the 19th century, aided by theWandervogel movement.
Much of Reichardt's reputation as a composer rests on hisLieder that number about 1,500, using texts by some 125 poets. Important among these are the settings of Goethe's texts, some of which were known to, and influenced,Schubert. His setting of "Bunt sind schon die Wälder" is still popular. He was also known by hisSingspiele, a genre that he refined with Goethe's support. He also wrote 49 songs toHerder's texts. Aside from his music, his work as an essayist has maintained its value up to this day. The collection of poemsDes Knaben Wunderhorn is, in the epilogue, dedicated to Reichardt. This was probably in the expectation that he would set the text to music. However, such a setting from Reichardt was never composed.
SeeList of works for the stage by Johann Friedrich Reichardt.
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