Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778 – 1837) was an Austrian
composer and virtuoso pianist. His music reflects the
transition from the classical to the romantic musical
era. He was born as an only child (which was unusual
for that period) in Pressburg, Kingdom of Hungary, then
a part of the Habsburg Monarchy (now Bratislava, the
capital of Slovakia). He was named after the Czech
patron saint John of Nepomuk. His father, Johannes
Hummel, was the director of the Imperial School of
Military Music in Vienn...(+)
Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778 – 1837) was an Austrian
composer and virtuoso pianist. His music reflects the
transition from the classical to the romantic musical
era. He was born as an only child (which was unusual
for that period) in Pressburg, Kingdom of Hungary, then
a part of the Habsburg Monarchy (now Bratislava, the
capital of Slovakia). He was named after the Czech
patron saint John of Nepomuk. His father, Johannes
Hummel, was the director of the Imperial School of
Military Music in Vienna; his mother, Margarethe Sommer
Hummel, was the widow of the wigmaker Josef Ludwig. The
couple married just four months beforehand.
Hummel was a child prodigy. At the age of eight, he was
offered music lessons by the classical composer
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who was impressed with his
ability. Hummel was taught and housed by Mozart for two
years free of charge and made his first concert
appearance at the age of nine at one of Mozart's
concerts. Hummel's father then took him on a European
tour, arriving in London where he received instruction
from Muzio Clementi and where he stayed for four years
before returning to Vienna. In 1791 Joseph Haydn, who
was in London at the same time as young Hummel,
composed a sonata for Hummel, who gave its first
performance in the Hanover Square Rooms in Haydn's
presence. When Hummel finished, Haydn reportedly
thanked the young man and gave him a guinea.
The outbreak of the French Revolution and the following
Reign of Terror caused Hummel to cancel a planned tour
through Spain and France. Instead, he returned to
Vienna, giving concerts along his route. Upon his
return to Vienna he was taught by Johann Georg
Albrechtsberger, Joseph Haydn, and Antonio Salieri. At
about this time, young Ludwig van Beethoven arrived in
Vienna and also took lessons from Haydn and
Albrechtsberger, thus becoming a fellow student and a
friend. Beethoven's arrival was said to have nearly
destroyed Hummel's self-confidence, though he recovered
without much harm. The two men's friendship was marked
by ups and downs, but developed into reconciliation and
mutual respect. Hummel visited Beethoven in Vienna on
several occasions with his wife Elisabeth and pupil
Ferdinand Hiller. At Beethoven's wish, Hummel
improvised at the great man's memorial concert. It was
at this event that he made friends with Franz Schubert,
who dedicated his last three piano sonatas to Hummel.
However, since both composers had died by the time of
the sonatas' first publication, the publishers changed
the dedication to Robert Schumann, who was still active
at the time.
Hummel, c. 1814, Goethe-Museum, Düsseldorf
In 1804, Hummel became Konzertmeister to Prince
Esterházy's establishment at Eisenstadt. Although he
had taken over many of the duties of Kapellmeister
because Haydn's health did not permit him to perform
them himself, he continued to be known simply as the
Concertmeister out of respect to Haydn, receiving the
title of Kapellmeister, or music director, to the
Eisenstadt court only after the older composer died in
May 1809. He remained in the service of Prince
Esterházy for seven years altogether before being
dismissed in May 1811 for neglecting his duties. He
then returned to Vienna where, after spending two years
composing, he married the opera singer Elisabeth
Röckel in 1813. The following year, at her request,
was spent touring Russia and the rest of Europe. The
couple had two sons. The younger, Carl (1821–1907),
became a well-known landscape painter. The older,
Eduarde, worked as pianist, conductor and composer; he
moved to the U.S. and died in Troy, New York.
Hummel's music took a different direction from that of
Beethoven. Looking forward, Hummel stepped into
modernity through pieces like his Sonata in F-sharp
minor, Op. 81, and his Fantasy, Op. 18, for piano.
These pieces are examples where Hummel may be seen to
both challenge the classical harmonic structures and
stretch the sonata form. His main oeuvre is for the
piano, on which instrument he was one of the great
virtuosi of his day. He wrote eight piano concertos, a
double concerto for violin and piano, ten piano sonatas
(of which four are without opus numbers, and one is
still unpublished), eight piano trios, a piano quartet,
a piano quintet, a wind octet, a cello sonata, two
piano septets, a mandolin concerto, a mandolin sonata,
a Trumpet Concerto in E major written for the keyed
trumpet (usually heard in the more convenient E-flat
major), a "Grand Bassoon Concerto" in F, a quartet for
clarinet, violin, viola, and cello, four hand piano
music, 22 operas and Singspiels, masses, and much more,
including a variation on a theme supplied by Anton
Diabelli for part 2 of Vaterländischer
Künstlerverein.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Nepomuk_Hummel).
Although originally composed for Violin, Cello & Piano,
I created this Interpretation of the Trio Sonata in Eb
Major (Op. 22 No. 2) for Winds (Flute, Oboe, Bb
Clarinet, French Horn & Bassoon) & Strings (2 Violins,
Viola, Cello & Bass).
SHEET MUSIC