Johann Nepomuk Hummel
Johann Nepomuk Hummel arrived in the world on the 14th of November 1778 within Pressburg, Kingdom of Hungary. His father Johannes Hummel served as a violinist and music teacher before the family moved to Vienna in late 1786 or early 1787. At age eight, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart offered free lessons to the young boy who lived with him for two years without charge. This arrangement allowed Hummel to develop skills that would soon carry him across Europe. He made his first public concert appearance at age nine during one of Mozart's own performances. The tour began in London in 1790 where he received additional instruction from Muzio Clementi. Audiences at Hanover Square Rooms responded enthusiastically to his playing of a Mozart piano concerto alongside his own sonata. By 1791 the thirteen-year-old premiered a Haydn piano trio at the same venue. Upon returning to Vienna in 1793 he studied under Johann Georg Albrechtsberger and Antonio Salieri while forming friendships with Ludwig van Beethoven.
Hummel secured the position of Konzertmeister to Nikolaus II Prince Esterházy in 1804 at Eisenstadt. He assumed many Kapellmeister duties because Joseph Haydn's health prevented full performance until May 1809 when Haydn died. The court granted him the title of Kapellmeister only after the older composer passed away. Seven years of service ended abruptly in May 1811 when he was dismissed for neglecting his duties. Later appointments included roles as Kapellmeister in Stuttgart from 1816 to 1818 and in Weimar from 1819 until his death in 1837. His time in Weimar fostered a friendship with Goethe that lasted until the poet's death in March 1832. Hummel introduced one of the first musicians' pension schemes by organizing benefit concert tours to raise funds. He fought against unethical music publishers and helped establish principles of intellectual property and copyright law. In 1825 Parisian firm Aristide Farrenc acquired French publishing rights for all future works by Hummel. Three concerts given in Paris during 1830 featured performances by Louise Farrenc who sought Hummel's comments on her keyboard technique.
Hummel composed eight piano concertos including the frequently performed Piano Concerto No. 5 in A-flat Opus 113. His main body of work centered on the piano where he stood among the great virtuosi of his day. The catalog includes ten piano sonatas, eight piano trios, a piano quartet, two piano septets, and four hand piano pieces. He wrote a wind octet, cello sonata, mandolin concerto, and Grand Bassoon Concerto in F. A Trumpet Concerto in E major was written specifically for the keyed trumpet now often heard in E-flat major. Hummel displayed significant interest in guitar composition beginning with Opus 7 and finishing with Opus 93. Other guitar works include Opp. 43, 53, 62, 63, 66, 71, and 91 which were written for mixed instruments. Despite this vast output he conspicuously lacked any symphony in his collection. His music took direction away from Beethoven through pieces like the Piano Sonata in F-sharp minor Opus 81 cherished by Robert Schumann. Fantasy Opus 18 influenced Schubert's Wanderer Fantasy for piano while challenging classical harmonic structures.
Hummel published A Complete Theoretical and Practical Course of Instruction on the Art of Playing the Piano Forte in 1828. Thousands of copies sold within days of its publication introducing new styles of fingering and ornamentation. Carl Czerny studied under Hummel after spending three years with Beethoven before transferring to Hummel's care. Czerny later taught Franz Liszt who admired Hummel and frequently performed his Septet Opus 74. Adam Liszt refused to pay the high tuition fee Hummel charged so his son ended up studying with Czerny instead. Ferdinand Hiller and Alexander Müller became notable students alongside Sigismond Thalberg and Adolf von Henselt. Felix Mendelssohn received brief lessons from Hummel during his early career. Schumann studied Hummel's instruction manual and considered becoming his pupil himself. The influence of this teaching method extended into nineteenth-century pianistic technique through these famous pupils. His disciplined Clementi-style technique emphasized clean execution that contrasted sharply with rising tempestuous bravura.
Chopin kept Hummel's piano concertos in his active repertoire after hearing them during Hummel's tour to Poland and Russia. Harold C. Schonberg noted that openings of the Hummel A minor concerto and Chopin E minor concerto are too close to be coincidental. Chopin also drew inspiration from Hummel's now-forgotten Opus 67 preludes composed in 1815 containing twenty-four pieces in all major and minor keys. Schubert dedicated his last three piano sonatas to Hummel though both men died before publication allowed the dedication to stand. Publishers later changed the dedication to Robert Schumann when the original recipients were no longer alive. Mendelssohn, Chopin, and Schumann all showed clear signs of Hummel's harmonic structures in their early works. The shadow of Hummel's Piano Concerto in B minor appears particularly within Chopin's own concertos. Schubert's Trout Quintet modeled itself on an earlier Hummel work the quintet version of Septet in D minor Opus 74. It may have been influenced further by Hummel's Quintet in E-flat Opus 87.
Hummel died peacefully in Weimar on the 17th of October 1837 at age fifty-eight while suffering from failing health. His disciplined technique and balanced classicism opposed him to the rising school of tempestuous bravura displayed by Liszt. Although he died famous with a seemingly secure reputation his music quickly faded during the Romantic period. Critics viewed his classical ideas as old-fashioned compared to newer trends sweeping through Europe. During the classical revival of the early twentieth century Hummel was passed over again for other composers. Franz Joseph Haydn required until the second half of the twentieth century for similar musical revival after being overshadowed by Mozart and Beethoven. An increasing number of recordings and live performances has reestablished his music in the modern classical repertoire today. He bequeathed a considerable portion of his garden behind his Weimar residence to his masonic lodge before passing away. His grave remains located in the Historical Cemetery in Weimar where visitors can still find it.
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Common questions
When and where was Johann Nepomuk Hummel born?
Johann Nepomuk Hummel arrived in the world on the 14th of November 1778 within Pressburg, Kingdom of Hungary. His father Johannes Hummel served as a violinist and music teacher before the family moved to Vienna in late 1786 or early 1787.
Who taught Johann Nepomuk Hummel during his childhood?
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart offered free lessons to the young boy who lived with him for two years without charge. Later appointments included roles as Kapellmeister in Stuttgart from 1816 to 1818 and in Weimar from 1819 until his death in 1837.
What major positions did Johann Nepomuk Hummel hold throughout his career?
Hummel secured the position of Konzertmeister to Nikolaus II Prince Esterházy in 1804 at Eisenstadt. He assumed many Kapellmeister duties because Joseph Haydn's health prevented full performance until May 1809 when Haydn died.
Which composers were influenced by Johann Nepomuk Hummel's music?
Mendelssohn, Chopin, and Schumann all showed clear signs of Hummel's harmonic structures in their early works. Schubert dedicated his last three piano sonatas to Hummel though both men died before publication allowed the dedication to stand.
When did Johann Nepomuk Hummel die and where is he buried?
Johann Nepomuk Hummel died peacefully in Weimar on the 17th of October 1837 at age fifty-eight while suffering from failing health. His grave remains located in the Historical Cemetery in Weimar where visitors can still find it.