Becher was the practical head of the radicals and a member of the central committee and assumed editorial charge of the revolutionary organ, "Der Radikale." He was a staunch champion of the classical school of music and wrote a great number of musical compositions.
Background
Alfred was born on the 27th of April, 1803 in Manchester, United Kingdom. He was a son of the founder of the Rhenish-West India Company and studied law at Heidelberg, Göttingen, and Berlin. It was not long before he conceived ultra-socialistic ideas that led to his arrest. On his release shortly after, he went to Elberfeld, where he practiced law for a time. His restless spirit would not permit him to pursue his profession.
Education
He studied law at Heidelberg, Göttingen, and Berlin.Then Becher decided to study painting and music, and accordingly went to Düsseldorf, where he formed lasting friendships with Mendelssohn Immermann, Uetritz, and Grabbe, continuing, however, his adhesion to radical socialism.
Career
Until 1838 he was appointed as a professor of the theory of music at the university at The Hague. For nearly two years he labored at this, until an injudiciously worded criticism led to his departure for London, where he became professor of music in a private academy. His stay in the English capital was very short, however, for litigation with an English nobleman forced Becher to leave the country.
In the spring of 1848 Becher became the practical head of the radicals, then fomenting a revolt in the Austrian capital. He became a member of the central committee and assumed editorial charge of the revolutionary organ, "Der Radikale."
Politics
He was a radical socialist, and many times he was deported from the country.