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Adolf Reichel (1816-1896) was a Swiss composer of Classical and Neoclassical Romanticism. Born in Tursnitz, West Prussia, he received early music education in Elbing, Thorn, and Danzig, later studying composition under Siegfried Dehn and piano under Ludwig Berger in Berlin. Reichel's career led him to Meiningen, Dresden, Vienna, Bern, Brussels, and Paris, where he befriended notable figures like Frédéric Chopin and George Sand.
Reichel's musical legacy includes over 700 manuscripts, two symphonies, piano concertos, chamber works, and a variety of sacred music and songs. Several of his works were published by prestigious houses such as C.F. Peters and Breitkopf & Härtel. A conservative in musical thought but a versatile composer, Reichel was a highly skilled and productive figure of his time.
Reichel was closely associated with the revolutionary Mikhail Bakunin, supporting him financially and operationally for years. His political convictions led him to move to Bern in 1867, where he became director of the Bern Symphony Orchestra and the Conservatory. Reichel became a Swiss citizen in 1869, establishing a six-generation dynasty of Swiss musicians.
His students included notable names such as August Klughardt and Alexander Taneyev. Despite being largely forgotten for nearly a century, his rediscovered works are now housed in the Bern University of the Arts. His life, intertwined with significant musical and political figures, and his extensive body of work, mark him as a prominent yet underappreciated composer of his era.