Antoine Reicha (1770-1836) knew everyone. Youthful friend of Haydn and Beethoven, he later taught Berlioz, Gounod, Liszt and César Franck. His influence on European music is immense, so why is he not more well-known? Perhaps because the compositions of a great teacher and author of treatises on harmony and improvisation do not necessarily translate easily to the concert platform. The Serbian pianist Ivan Ilić introduces us to Reicha’s revolutionary mind, bringing together works from about 1800, some springing directly from his theoretical writing on composition. Ilić intersperses startlingly original fantasias with two sonatas, one built entirely around a theme from Mozart’s Magic Flute. It’s perhaps a little too academic for one sitting, but individually the works hold a genuine fascination.
