Search - Antoine Reicha, Tiny Wirtz :: Anton Reicha: 36 Fugues for piano, Op. 36

Reicha was a famous teacher (among his pupils were Berlioz, Liszt, and Gounod), so he has come down through history with a reputation as a dry composer. I suspect few listeners would be inspired to listen through two CDs of his fugues--until they hear a few of them. For despite Reicha's great theoretical expertise, he was a composer of great inventiveness who wrote highly expressive music. These fugues may not be as rigorous or great as Bach's, but taken in reasonable-sized groups they are quite rewarding to hear. We're fortunate that Tiny Wirtz (that's her name!) plays so well, because this is the only complete recording of the set ever made. --Leslie Gerber