Search - Hae Won Chang :: HUMMEL: Piano Concertos Nos. 2 and 3

Concerto bridges Mozart and romanticism

Timmy | New York, Ny United States | 12/08/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It is very unfortunate that today, Johann Nepomuk Hummel has nearly been forgotten. Throughout the 1st half of the 19th century, he was considered an immortal. In fact, in Vienna, he was Beethoven's only real compositional and pianistic rival. These two concertos of Hummel's are fine examples of his genius. They stem from Mozart's style (Mozart was his teacher) but are more harmonically complex and more romantic. The one in a-minor directly influenced Chopin's concerto in e-minor. Although Hummel is somewhat less inventive than his contemporary Beethoven (not surprisingly), his music is elegant and wonderful. There is some mechanical passagework and excessive ornamentaion (common of Hummel and his contemporaries)in the interest of virtuosity, but both concertos are excellent examples of my favorite musical genre. This recording is an excellent one, offering both precise piano playing (Hummel's trademark) and clear orchestration. This is a must-have for fans of Mozart concertos."