Johann Friedrich Reichardt

Johann Friedrich Reichardt was a German composer, writer, and Kapellmeister born in Königsberg in 1752. He served as court composer to Frederick the Great and later to Frederick William II in Berlin, where he championed German-language opera and lieder. His output includes over 1,500 songs, several Singspiele, and symphonies influenced by the Sturm und Drang movement. Reichardt was also a prolific music critic and essayist who promoted Enlightenment ideals in the arts. He collaborated with poets such as Goethe and Schiller and helped shape early Romantic musical aesthetics before his death in 1814.