Title: Early Development of the Woodwind Ensemble
Headings: 
The Early Development of the Wind Quintet
Content: Reicha was adopted by his uncle-a virtuoso cellist, concert director, and composer-after the death of his  father only ten months after he was born. “ After the family moved to Bonn  in 1785, Reicha played the violin and the flute (his main instrument) in the Hofkapelle under his uncle’s direction,  alongside Beethoven and C.G. Neefe.” [ 8] In 1789 he entered Bonn University where he met Haydn. When he moved to Hamburg, because of the French invasion of Bonn, he vowed not to perform any more and  instead taught piano, harmony, and composition. In 1881 he became professor at  the Paris Conservatoire, and in 1835 successor to Boieldieu. Today, Reicha is  best known for his treatises in theory and his woodwind quintets. His most important  treatises Traité de haute composition displayed Reicha’s thoughts that counterpoint was almost synonymous with  harmony. “Reicha’s  actual predilection was for chamber music, but he also wrote a few operas, which explains some of the operatic passages in  his chamber music.” [ 9] Reicha wrote twenty-four woodwind quintets in four sets of six,  opus number 88, 91, 99, and 100. These works were composed between 1810 and 1820  and were widely performed during this period.