Austrian Johann Nepomuk Hummel was born on November 14, 1778 and died October 17,1837, dying as a well known virtuoso pianist and composer. His musical abilities flourished as a young boy, being offered music lessons by Amadeus Mozart when he was only 8 years of age. His father, Johannes Hummel, was a conductor for Emanuel Schikaneder's theater orchestra at the Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna where Mozart's The Magic Flute was performed. Hummel was housed and taught for free under Wolfgang for two years and performed for the first time at age 9 at one of Mozart's performances. Likewise to Mozart's father, Johannes took Johann on a European tour to further his musical ability; however, after arriving in London, he spent four years there studying under composer Muzio Clementi before returning to Vienna.
Written in 1819, Hummel's Piano concerto is in Sonata form with an allegro first movement, largo con molto espressione as the second and vivace finale as the third. The piece is in the conventional form of the time period, sticking to the rules for the most part but with a more expressive and dynamic display than what was ordinary for the classical period. There is a double bar line in the first movement, moving the piece directly into the development after the exposition. The piece changes tempo often and stops and starts repeatedly, adding a sense of restlessness. After meandering around with the primary theme
Hummel's sonata op. 81 is an expressive push forward from the previous classical period and into the romantic period. He introduced his own nuances that no was not seen before him. Things like a fortissimo at the beginning of his second movement, surprising the listener and griping them with a somber and unceasing flow of the keyboard. The second movement has varying dynamics, all of which are a taste of the abrupt and tenacious final movement. Johann utilizes the entire keyboard in a fast paced finale, inevitably returning to the first theme to end the movement. Mozart personally addressed his own inferiority to rapid passages in thirds which Clementi passed on to Johann.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTjtrWh5Q8I
http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dw.asp?dc=W322_67390
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Nepomuk_Hummel
I thought it was awesome that Hummel got to study under Mozart. At the time he began studying with Mozart, Mozart's popularity had started declining, yet he still studied with him. I guess that shows that Mozart's popularity was not completely faded yet.
ReplyDeleteI like the stories of parents taking children on tours of Europe to further their musical abilities (Like Hummel and Mozart). Interesting that they actually met and Hummel studied under Mozart.
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