The «Praktische Beispiele» by Antonín Reicha and Their Influence on Franz Liszt

The Praktische Beispiele, ein Beitrag zu Geistes Cultur des Tonsetzers is a set of 24 piano pieces written by Antonín Reicha before 1802; later in Wien Reicha wrote also the Philosophisch-praktische Anmerkungen zu den praktischen Beispielen, a little treatise related to the pieces in which he discusses some philosophical, psychological and aesthetic questions, together with specific compositional matters. Both the piano pieces and the treatise were published in modern critical edition (Antoine Reicha, Écrits inédits et oubliés, ed. by Hervé Audéon, Alban Ramaut and Herbert Schneider, Hildesheim, Olms, 2011-2013). In this contribute I will describe the principal features of this piano pieces, focusing the attention on the experimental attitude shown by the composer. Moreover, I will search some models for the most innovative piano music of the 19th Century, particularly the production of Franz Liszt, who was a Reicha pupil in Paris.