Hummel - Piano Sonata No. 5 In F-sharp Minor

Beethoven and Hummel were friends for many years until they had a falling out around 1810. Hummel had been a student of Mozart and Clementi and was known for his delicacy and fluidity on the piano, while Beethoven was better known for snapped strings and broken pianos he left in his wake. Beethoven's playing was thundering, while Hummel's was singing. Beethoven's playing by contemporary accounts could be sloppy and he pounded, while Hummel's was precise and flexible. Both men were virtuosos of the first order in the Vienna of the early 19th century, but they were at opposite ends of the piano playing spectrum. Beethoven was a notoriously difficult person to get along with, and his life is littered with squabbles large and small that caused estrangement from many of his friends.

Ludwig van Beethoven

Beethoven also didn't much care for Hummel's compositions, but Beethoven was very sparse with his acceptance of most other composers' music. Perhaps what set Beethoven off the most was that Hummel made arrangements of Beethoven's music, probably on artistic grounds as well as monetary. Copyright didn't exist and Beethoven didn't get any payment for the use of his composition as basis for an arrangement and certainly had no say-so in the arrangement itself.

All of this competition and bickering (as well as the huge difference in their piano playing) caused two camps to form in Vienna. Carl Czerny, student of Beethoven and Hummel and teacher of Liszt, had the opportunity to hear many of the virtuosos in Vienna including Beethoven and Hummel. Czerny wrote about the two opposing camps:

Carl Czerny

Beethoven's style could be characterized as tremendously forceful, full of bravura and fluency, while Hummel's was the epitome of the highest purity and clarity, full of graceful delicacy and elegance. Hummel's playing united Mozart's style with the style of Clementi, so it was natural that some would prefer Hummel's playing to Beethoven's, thus two parties formed which were hostile and vengeful to each other. Hummel's supporters accused Beethoven of mistreating the piano mangling clarity and purity, he brought forth only confusing noise through the overuse of the pedal and his compositions were full of unnatural melodies and vulgarities. In contrast, the Beethoven supporters accused Hummel of stifling all true imagination, his playing monotonous as a hurdy-gurdy, his fingers like spiders and his compositions pale imitations of Mozart and Haydn. 

The historical edge as far as influencing later generations of composers must go to Beethoven, who was such a Titan of music that like his music or not, composers had to come to terms with it. But Hummel was not without his influence. It has not lasted directly lasted as long as Beethoven's but the leading composers of the Early Romantic Age certainly knew and learned from his music. Chopin had a Hummel piano concerto in his repertoire, Schumann struggled to learn the 5th piano sonata and Hummel taught Thalberg and Mendelssohn. Hummel's Piano sonata No. 5 In F-sharp Minor was written in 1819 and is in three movements:

I. Allegro - Hummel begins the movement with a decidedly different opening motif of grace notes attached to octaves in each hand. The music is restless and disjointed as it stops, starts, slows down and resumes tempo. There are many short motifs that run through the exposition, but the listener must pay attention as there is no choice for the performer to repeat the exposition as Hummel writes a double bar line and goes directly to the development. The development goes afield with certain motifs modulating to different keys, and Hummel eventually makes hisway back to the recapitulation. Motifs reappear with changes of key, and the movement ends in F-sharp major. The music bristles with thirds and fourths, especially in the right hand, as well as rapid runs and rhythmic combinations. Hummel manages to write a first movement that sounds more like a fantasy than sonata form.

II. Largo con molto espressione - What appears to be the slow movement of the sonata starts with a surprise; a motif played in double forte.  After the initial surprise, the music assumes the demeanor of a slow movement that is a foretaste of things to come with Chopin and Schumann. The movement is punctuated by loud outbursts and quick runs up and down the keyboard. The movement is full of tempo designations and directions as well as dynamic markings.

III. Finale:Vivace - The preceding two movements were only a warm up to what Hummel has in store in the finale. The music has a relentless push forward in the two main themes, the first of which is hammered out in the high treble and the other in octaves in the right hand played against running notes in the left. There is a fugal episode that appears twice as the music keeps pushing to the final chord. Again the music is full of thirds and fourths, especially a two-bar run for thirds in both hands that is played twice. The first theme returns to round off the movement and leads to octave F's in both hands.

Some say Beethoven was a Classical Era composer, some say he was one of the first Romantics, but Beethoven defies categorization as one thing or the other. His music has elements of both, but he is a composer unto himself. With the writing of this sonata Hummel led the way for the full onset of the Romantic Era. Beethoven wrote some amazing music for the piano, but he never wrote a sonata like this sonata of Hummel's.  

When Hummel learned that Beethoven was on his deathbed, he traveled to Vienna, visited Beethoven three times, the last only three days before Beethoven died.  He promised to take Beethoven's place in a charity concert, and secured Beethoven's signature on a document supporting Hummel's attempt at getting copyright laws passed. Hummel was one of eight musicians that accompanied Beethoven's coffin to his grave.

Hummel - Introduction, Theme And Variations For Oboe And Orchestra

When Johann Nepomuk Hummel was born in 1778 his birthplace was in the town of Pressburg in the Kingdom of Hungary which was then a part of the Austrian Empire, which currently is Bratislava in Slovakia. The change in the name of Hummel's birthplace as well as the country which it was in, is a reflection of the changes in Europe within the relatively short time span of a few centuries. Hummel himself was a product of former times. A composer and performer of renown during his lifetime, his music fell victim to changing times and rapidly faded into the background shortly before after his death in 1837.

Hummel moved to Vienna as a child and was a student of Mozart and later was a friend and fellow student of Beethoven (they were both taught by Haydn and Salieri). Hummel suceeded Haydn at the court of Prince Esterházy in Hungary until he was dismissed for inattention to duties in 1811. He went to Vienna, composed and toured Europe and Russia as a virtuoso pianist. He later held the post of Kappelmeister at other places, most notably at the court of Wiemar from 1819 to 1837. While he was at Wiemar he invited the best musicians to play there and made the city a music capital of Europe.

Besides his compositions and performing, his treatise A Complete Theoretical and Practical Course of Instruction on the Art of Playing the Piano Forte in 1828 was a great influence on young pianists as it revolutionized performance practices that heralded the Romantic era of the composer/pianist. Chopin and Schumann studied Hummel's music. Hummel was also a direct influence as a teacher. Carl Czerny transferred to Hummel after his three years of study with Beethoven. Czerny went on to teach Franz Liszt. Some of Hummel's other students were Sigismond Thalberg, Adolf von Henselt and Felix Mendelssohn.

Although Hummel is most often associated with music for the piano, he composed in all the musical forms of his time except he wrote no symphonies. He wrote eight piano concertos and many others for various solo instruments. His Introduction, Theme And Variations For Oboe is a concerto in all but name, and was written in 1824 during his time in Wiemar. It consisits of two sections:
I. Introduction - The introduction is in F minor as the orchestra sets the stage for the soloist. The music is solemn and reflective. It leads directly to the next section.
II. Theme And Variations - The theme is in contrast to the previous introduction as it is in F major and of a more cheerful disposition.
a) Variation 1 - The first variation sees the theme stated in mostly eighth notes. Each variation is in two sections that are repeated. A short ending of the first variation is played by the orchestra without the soloist.
b) Variation 2 - The theme is transformed into eighth-note triplets. This is also ended by the orchestra.
c) Variation 3 - The next variation slows the theme and is labeled cantabile ed un poco sostenuto (in a singing style, slightly sustained). The orchestra plays a con fuoco (with fire) ending to this variation.
d) Variation 4 - The theme is played in running sixteenth notes as the string s play pizacatto.
e) Interlude - Hummel deviates from the usuual set of variations and writes an extended interlude that includes fragments of the theme, but is not an actual variation on it.
f) Theme - As if to assure the listener that he hasn't forgotten about the theme, Hummel repeats it with a few changes. A fermata at the close of the theme gives the soloist opportunity for a cadenza.
g) Variation 5 - The variations begin in earnest once again as the theme is transformed into a waltz.
h) Variation 6 - The theme takes on a pattern of eighth rest-three eighth notes-quarter note per bar.
i) Variation 7 - Hummel transforms the theme to rapid eighth-note triplets with repeated notes. This variation leads to a short coda that ends the music with a high note from the soloist.

Although Hummel wrote some music that looked ahead to the Romantic era just over the horizon, he was essentially a classically trained musician whose music was rapidly looked on as being old -fashioned in the Europe of the 1830's.  Unlike Beethoven, a composer that was the model for conservative and radical composers alike, Hummel's art was of a less staggering kind but by no means trivial.  With recordings, Hummel's music is once again being heard, and perhaps will be heard more in the concert hall as well. A piece such as the Variations For Oboe, a lesser piece in that it isn't heaven-storming,  shows that he was a wonderful craftsman, could be inspired on ocassion, and a great musician.

Hummel - Piano Concerto In A minor

Johann Nepomuk Hummel was born in 1778 and died in 1837 and is acknowledged to be one of the composers of transition from the Classical model of music represented by Mozart to the beginnings of the Romantic movement.  His musical education was achieved by studying with teachers that included Haydn, Clementi,  Mozart and Beethoven. He was one of the great piano virtuosos of his time, as well as a composer and teacher.  Among his students were Mendelssohn, Henselt and other notable composers and pianists.

Hummel's music had a lasting effect on his contemporaries. Chopin had two of Hummel's piano concertos in his repertoire, and used them as models for his own piano concertos.  Schumann was also influenced by Hummel's second piano concerto. It was the first concerto Schumann studied with his teacher Friedrich Wieck (father of the piano virtuoso and future wife of Schumann, Clara). Schumann used the concerto as a model for his own Piano Concerto in A Minor.

There's not a better way to illustrate Hummel's shift in style of composition than to compare his early attempts at concerto writing with his 2nd in A minor. The Piano Concertino in G, written in 1799 (a transcription of an earlier concerto for mandolin), is generally reminiscent of Mozart's concertos in style and content. The 2nd concerto is more dramatic, has a form more like Beethoven with a more complex part for orchestra. The piano writing for the second concerto is strictly for the virtuoso, with brilliant runs, trills and passages in thirds for both hands.  The 2nd Piano concert is in the traditional three movements:


I. Allegro moderato - The orchestral introduction is Beethoven-like in length,  and Hummel shows his mastery of orchestral writing throughout. The piano enters and dazzles with piano writing that shows how great a virtuoso Hummel was, as he premiered this concerto in Vienna shortly after its composition in 1816.

 II. Larghetto - A short movement, the forerunner of the great slow movements to come in the Chopin concertos. The piano plays a sweet, tastefully decorated nocturne-like melody while the orchestra gently accompanies.

 III. Rondo: Allegro moderato -  The piano is the star of the finale, with glittering finger work the increases in complexity as melodies are tossed about between orchestra and piano until the work closes with a rousing flourish.

It is quite ironic that a composer such as Hummel, a harbinger of the Romantic movement that was so influential for so many composers, was for many years subject to gross neglect. At the end of his life he was considered somewhat old-fashioned by the leaders of the "New Music". Such is the fate of some who have led the way, only to be bypassed by the rapid change in taste and convention.  For whatever the reasons,  Hummel's music is now beginning to be heard more often, at least in recordings. It deserves to be heard, if nothing else as a break from the 'warhorses' of the repertoire. The relative handful of concertos that are played most often  most assuredly deserve their place in the repertoire, but music such as Hummel's can give them a needed rest on occasion.