Biography
Acquainted with numerous leading literary figures of his era, Reichardt earned recognition as a virtuoso on both violin and keyboard, even as certain works stooped to triviality in pursuit of patronage. Extensive journeys brought encounters and conversations with Hiller, Goethe, Nicolai, Schiller, C.P.E. Bach, and Benda, among others, some of whom became lasting friends. His output encompassed more than fifteen hundred songs, roughly thirty operas, incidental scores, ballets, oratorios, cantatas, sacred pieces, and assorted instrumental compositions. Moving past opera seria, the operas—especially “Tamerlan,” “Panthee,” and “Andromeda”—pointed ahead toward Italian models while also entering German stylistic territory. Although vocal writing dominated, Reichardt further enriched musical letters through substantial prose. As author of travel accounts, editor of the esteemed Musikalisches Kunstmagazin, and composer of music treatises, he helped propel the emerging Romantic movement already visible in the German lied. Musical esteem secured him posts as Kapellmeister in Berlin and at the courts of Frederick the Great and Frederick II, yet sympathies with the French Revolution led to his dismissal.