Hummel, J.N.: Sonata in E flat / Sonata in F minor / La contemplazione

Featuring

Susan Alexander-Max
Johann Nepomuk Hummel

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Compositional Technique

Hummel's true achievement lies in his mastery of the fortepiano, showcasing all its capabilities and colors, which is considered his greatest legacy.

Composer Biography

Johann Nepomuk Hummel, an Austrian pianist, composer, teacher, and conductor, was considered one of the most important composers and the greatest piano virtuoso of his era.

Composer Biography

As a child prodigy, Hummel was taken on by Mozart as his only full-time student, with Mozart supervising every aspect of his musical education.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Hummel's music, while often using old-fashioned techniques, expanded the expressive range of the early 19th century, with emotional variety, harmonic and melodic diversity, and flamboyance that shaped Romanticism.

Instruments

The fortepiano used in this recording was built in Vienna in 1814 by Joseph Brodmann, a highly reputable piano maker who also trained the celebrated Ignaz Bösendorfer.

Composer Biography

Hummel studied composition with leading composers in Vienna, including Albrechtsberger, Salieri, and Haydn, after returning from a four-year performance tour.