Hummel redux

HUMMEL WAS: Taught by – and housed for 2 years at 8 years old – by Mozart!  Received further instruction from Muzio Clementi. Haydn composed a sonata for him! He was then taught by Albrechtsberger, Haydn and Salieri. Beethoven became a fellow student and friend. (Beethoven’s arrival was said to have nearly destroyed Hummel’s self-confidence, though he recovered without much harm.) He became good friends with Schubert and Goethe and Schiller! He taught Carl Czerny who later taught Liszt. (Czerny had first studied with Beethoven, but upon hearing Hummel one evening, decided to give up Beethoven for Hummel.) Mendelssohn was also a student, and he had an influence on the early works of Chopin and Schumann.

And Yet! He somehow faded into relative obscurity compared to the above-mentioned composers, who went on to become celebrated and their music featured in the Classical repertoire. It seems like sometimes it’s just the ‘luck of the draw.’

Lovely stuff: Hummel’s Piano & Violin Concerto, Op. 17 – II. Andante con moto

II. Andante con moto