David Reichenberg
Encyclopedia
David Reichenberg was an American oboist
and a highly respected specialist on the baroque oboe. He was born in Cedar Falls, Iowa
and learnt the flute, violin and piano as a child. He began his oboe studies with Dr Myron E. Russell of the University of Northern Iowa
. Beginning in 1969, Reichenberg studied at the Indiana University
School of Music, continuing his oboe studies with Jerry Sirucek, former oboist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
. Graduating in 1972, Reichenberg moved to Salzburg
, where he attended the Mozarteum. It was in Salzburg that Reichenberg met Nikolaus Harnoncourt
, director of Concentus Musicus Wien
. Reichenberg became increasingly interested in playing the oboe's repertoire on the instrument for which it had been written and, with the assistance of Harnoncourt, moved to Vienna
in order to study baroque
oboe with Jürg Schäftlein. He simultaneously studied oboe making with Paul Hailperin, building the instrument upon
which he played for four years. Reichenberg took part in many concerts and recordings with Concentus Musicus, and gradually
increased his activities with that group.
In 1977, Reichenberg formed the Munich-based orchestra, Florilegium Musicum, which gave numerous performances of Bach cantatas and Mozart masses. During that year, Reichenberg received several requests to play in England. Most notable among these was the offer to participate in the Deutsche Grammophon
/Archiv recordings of the Bach
Orchestral Suites with the English Concert, directed by Trevor Pinnock
. At the close of the year, Reichenberg toured the United States
with the Concentus Musicus and thereafter moved to England
.
In London
, Reichenberg was immediately in demand as a freelance player with all the orchestras playing on period instruments. These included the Taverner Consort, the London Classical Players
, London Baroque, the English Bach Festival, the Academy of Ancient Music
, the English Baroque Soloists
, as well as the English Concert. Reichenberg appeared extensively as soloist with the English Concert, and toured the United States, Japan
, Germany
, Austria
, France
and Italy
with this group. His many recordings with the English Concert (Deutsche Grammophon/Archiv) include Bach's oboe d'amore concerto, as well as the double concerto for oboe and violin, all the Brandenburg concerti, the Handel
oboe concerti, the Handel Concerti grossi Opus 3, Vivaldi
's Oboe concerto in A minor, plus the G major double concerto for oboe and bassoon. Among his other solo recordings, Reichenberg has recorded the Handel oboe sonatas with l'Ecole d'Orphee, available
on the CRD label.
Following Reichenberg's arrival in London in 1978, he served as instructor of baroque oboe at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He also taught each summer from 1981 through 1986 at the Summer Academy held in Palicio de Mateus
in northern Portugal
. Reichenberg was appointed Professor of Baroque Oboe at the Vienna Hochschule in 1986.
He died of complications from AIDS
in 1987. (Material taken from a memorial tribute by Nora Post in The Double Reed, Vol.11, No.1)
Oboist
An oboist is a musician who plays the oboe or any oboe family instrument, including the cor anglais, oboe d'amore, shawm and oboe musette....
and a highly respected specialist on the baroque oboe. He was born in Cedar Falls, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
and learnt the flute, violin and piano as a child. He began his oboe studies with Dr Myron E. Russell of the University of Northern Iowa
University of Northern Iowa
The University of Northern Iowa is a college located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, United States. UNI offers more than 120 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities and Fine Arts, Natural Sciences, and Social and Behavioral sciences, and graduate college.UNI has...
. Beginning in 1969, Reichenberg studied at the Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
School of Music, continuing his oboe studies with Jerry Sirucek, former oboist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1891, the Symphony makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival...
. Graduating in 1972, Reichenberg moved to Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
, where he attended the Mozarteum. It was in Salzburg that Reichenberg met Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Nikolaus Harnoncourt is an Austrian conductor, particularly known for his historically informed performances of music from the Classical era and earlier. Starting out as a classical cellist, he founded his own period instrument ensemble in the 1950s, and became a pioneer of the Early Music movement...
, director of Concentus Musicus Wien
Concentus Musicus Wien
Concentus Musicus Wien is a baroque music ensemble founded by Nikolaus and Alice Harnoncourt in 1953. It generated the now well-established movement in performance and recordings to play early music on period instruments....
. Reichenberg became increasingly interested in playing the oboe's repertoire on the instrument for which it had been written and, with the assistance of Harnoncourt, moved to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
in order to study baroque
oboe with Jürg Schäftlein. He simultaneously studied oboe making with Paul Hailperin, building the instrument upon
which he played for four years. Reichenberg took part in many concerts and recordings with Concentus Musicus, and gradually
increased his activities with that group.
In 1977, Reichenberg formed the Munich-based orchestra, Florilegium Musicum, which gave numerous performances of Bach cantatas and Mozart masses. During that year, Reichenberg received several requests to play in England. Most notable among these was the offer to participate in the Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
/Archiv recordings of the Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
Orchestral Suites with the English Concert, directed by Trevor Pinnock
Trevor Pinnock
Trevor David Pinnock CBE is an English conductor, harpsichordist, and occasional organist and pianist.He is best known for his association with the period-performance orchestra The English Concert which he helped found and directed from the keyboard for over 30 years in baroque and early classical...
. At the close of the year, Reichenberg toured the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with the Concentus Musicus and thereafter moved to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
In London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Reichenberg was immediately in demand as a freelance player with all the orchestras playing on period instruments. These included the Taverner Consort, the London Classical Players
London Classical Players
The London Classical Players was a British orchestra that specialized in music following historically informed performance practices and orchestral performances on period musical instruments. Sir Roger Norrington founded the LCP in 1978. From 1978 to 1992, the concertmaster of the London...
, London Baroque, the English Bach Festival, the Academy of Ancient Music
Academy of Ancient Music
The Academy of Ancient Music is a period-instrument orchestra based in Cambridge, England. Founded by harpsichordist Christopher Hogwood in 1973, it was named after a previous organisation of the same name of the 18th century. The musicians play on either original instruments or modern copies of...
, the English Baroque Soloists
English Baroque Soloists
The English Baroque Soloists is a chamber orchestra playing on period instruments, formed in 1978 by English conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Its repertoire comprises music from the early Baroque period to the Classical period...
, as well as the English Concert. Reichenberg appeared extensively as soloist with the English Concert, and toured the United States, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
with this group. His many recordings with the English Concert (Deutsche Grammophon/Archiv) include Bach's oboe d'amore concerto, as well as the double concerto for oboe and violin, all the Brandenburg concerti, the Handel
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
oboe concerti, the Handel Concerti grossi Opus 3, Vivaldi
Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi , nicknamed because of his red hair, was an Italian Baroque composer, priest, and virtuoso violinist, born in Venice. Vivaldi is recognized as one of the greatest Baroque composers, and his influence during his lifetime was widespread over Europe...
's Oboe concerto in A minor, plus the G major double concerto for oboe and bassoon. Among his other solo recordings, Reichenberg has recorded the Handel oboe sonatas with l'Ecole d'Orphee, available
on the CRD label.
Following Reichenberg's arrival in London in 1978, he served as instructor of baroque oboe at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He also taught each summer from 1981 through 1986 at the Summer Academy held in Palicio de Mateus
Mateus Palace
The Mateus Palace is a palace located in the civil parish of Mateus, municipality of Vila Real, Portugal. Architect Nicolau Nasoni was involved in the project for the construction of the palace, which took place in the 18th century.- External links :*...
in northern Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. Reichenberg was appointed Professor of Baroque Oboe at the Vienna Hochschule in 1986.
He died of complications from AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
in 1987. (Material taken from a memorial tribute by Nora Post in The Double Reed, Vol.11, No.1)