Reicha: Wind Quintets, Op. 88, No. 2 and Op. 100, No. 5

When Simon Reicha, Prague's town piper, died in 1771, his one-year old son Antonin was left in the care of a mother who showed neither the ability nor the inclination to look after him properly. As a result, the boy ran away to his paternal grandfather when he was only eleven years old, and from there was passed into the care of his uncle Josef, a highly respected cellist, and Konzertmeister at the celebrated court of Oettingen-Wallerstein in Schwabia. Encouraged by the prospect of a proper education and family life, Antonin set out on the journey alone, reca1ling later that the worst moment came as he tried to cross the border at Regensburg. With no documentation and speaking very little German, he waited until the customs officer had started his lunch and then feigned eye trouble, explaining that he had his papers somewhere, and wanted to visit a shrine in the hope of a miraculous cure. The ruse worked, and the bemused official allowed him to cross.