Customer Reviews

Hummel: Piano Concerto in A Minor and B Minor

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I based this purchase on a tiny snippet heard in the background on internet radio. The music was engaging, but what caught my ear was the playing. I purchased the disc on a sort of whim, being relatively unfamiliar with Hummel.
I am on cloud nine because I took the leap. It is a virtual tour de force by Mr. Hough.
Hummel's work, I am sure, received short shrift later because it would destroy any but the finest players. Mr. Hough proves his mettle triumphantly! By approaching these works with respect, Mr. Hough et al can drag us (and an apparently grudging musical establishment) along and teach us to appreciate these glorious concerti for the extraordinary pieces they really are.
Hough's precision and speed are supernatural; exactly the qualities required by the works. Icing on the cake is that he shows extraordinary skill in handling the dynamics & pacing as well as a keen sense of communication with the orchestra that borders on psychic. I am astonished and was moved to tears during several of the flourishes. How rare to be that moved by talent and ability in this day and age.
The orchestral accompaniment is top flight and the production quality is superior. It is a stunner on all fronts!!
Kudos to Chandos!
It beggars belief that, as good as these are, I had heard Hummel's name mentioned maybe twice and actually had only heard one trumpet piece. A sad testament to his neglect. I am a convert!!!
I cannot recommend this disc highly enough.

This recording of the glorious Piano Concerto in A minor Opus 85, and Piano Concerto in B Minor Opus 89 by Johann Nepomuk Hummel was the first recording to bring the spectacular British pianist Stephen Hough to my attention. He went on to sign his exclusive contract with Hyperion and has produced miracle after miracle in his recordings since, winning many awards, including being the first pianist to win the coveted McArthur Award, in actuality a huge stipend given soley on already proven merit.

When I was a high school student somewhere around 1969-70 I remember buying an LP on the Turnabout label of pianist Martin Galling playing the Haydn Concerto in D major. Coupled with that well-known piece was a concerto by a composer I had never heard of, Hummel, his Opus 89. Upon playing the record I fell in love with the Hummel: it's mysterious quiet tympani opening ( in a way like that of the Beethoven Violin Concerto), it's florid rather Chopinesque writing, the sheer drive of the music. I went on to seek out as much Hummel on LP as I could, which back then wasn't much. As the years went on I heard and studied and played quite a bit more of Hummel's ouvre. When I saw this CD I immediately wanted it to replace those old cheap vinyl discs. I had no idea at that time who Stephen Hough was. Well, within minutes I was out of my chair and pacing the room! The playing was so blazing with virtuosity and elan, examples of such a gorgeous pianism that I was flabbergasted.

The Galling recordings of these concerti are full of little internal cuts, sometimes to tighten the structure, but often to avoid some real technical nightmares, such as lightning-fast passages in thirds, etc.

People like to say perfection cannot be achieved in this world, but I say it can. This recording is a case in point. It is absolutely perfect. And beautiful. And thrilling.

I would give it 10 stars if I could.

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. I strongly support anyone who plays or listens to the works of this forgotten master.

Before I bought this CD, the only Hummel composition I'd heard (due to Hummel's sad lack of recognition in these modern times) was his trumpet concerto, which surprised me with its effortless mix of Romantic feeling and Classical structure. These piano concertos are in much the same vein. The best description I can give is the virtuosity of Saint-Saens within the flawless structure of Mozart. They're really must-haves if you like any piano concertos from the late Classical or early Romantic era (Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, etc.). Their feeling is truly epic; they'll bowl you over not only with the grandness of their themes, but with the viciously fast, intricate passage-work required to play them. Listening to this recording, I found it almost impossible to believe that Stephen Hough could even play through these pieces--they make the grandiose Beethoven piano concertos sound like a stroll in the park. The piano playing is flawless and the orchestral backing from the English Chamber Orchestra is taut and energetic, crackling with power and, yes, passion too. In short, these concertos, particularly this recording of these concertos, are a hidden treasure of Romantic piano work that should not be missed. I guarantee you can't go wrong with this CD.

Johann Nepomuk Hummel`s piano concerti are magnificent, monumental works. Always an imaginative and talented composer, with the 2nd and 3rd of these works he reached a pinnacle of musical genius few others have ever reached. Terrific, special orchestration, magnificent themes (especially the main theme to the third movement of the A minor!), orchestral climaxes (the stormy tour du force in the first movement`s orchestral introduction in the B minor), heartwrenching lyrical themes, dynamic "wow" virtuosic passages... these have it all and with style.

I can only concur with the comments made by the other reviewers. This is an outstanding CD: spacious, gorgeous, early-Romantic musical themes combined with thrilling bravura writing for the piano. The recorded sound is top-drawer, the orchestra respond magnificently to the taut, fluid conducting and, best of all, Stephen Hough simply astonishes with the poetry, vigour, accuracy and fire of his pianism.

I marginally prefer the B minor concerto (Op.89) - it has the most beautiful second subject in the first movement, very reminiscent of Chopin, and some truly adrenaline-pumping passages for the piano. But both works are highly recommended. As others have stated, the two concertos here span the bridge between Mozart and Chopin (although I find them slightly more Chopinesque than Mozartian) and are required listening for anyone with an interest in the development of the piano concerto as an art form or, for that matter, ANYONE who loves great music.

I doubt this recording of the two works will ever be bettered.

Hummel is somewhat a neglected composer, and after hearing these recordings of piano concertos, I can only wonder why.

The music itself is well written, and the piano part is as one would expect from a virtuoso pianhist/composer...brilliant.

The orchestra sounds great, and the soloist is put to the technical an musical test in these pieces. He comes through magnificently!

No ifs ands or buts, highly recommended.

The Hummel concerti are not often heard these days (if at all). Listening to this CD, one can tell why - these pieces have the potential to make the the most seasoned of pianists look like fools, getting their hands twisted and tying their hands up into knots. They're quite similar to the Chopin concertos in the way that the Orchestra has a minimal role whilst the piano part slides up and down the keyboard with ripples of ornamentations added at every conceivable point. If Mozart, Chopin and Czerny ended up on an island together they may have come up with something like this. Mozart would have composed the tunes. Chopin would've unwillingly written the orchestral part in half-an-hour and, finding Mozart's writing too bland, written in ornamentations. Czerny would've been handed the product of these two and made single notes into thirds, octaves, and put in scales, trills and other exercise material. And Voila, a Hummel Concerto is created. If you listen to nothing else, listen to the coda of the third movement of the A minor concerto, where Stephen Hough will unleash a blizzard of notes upon your bewildered ears. As one expects from this artist, the playing is without equal. If you're the sort of person that likes 'discovering' new pieces, then you will not be disappointed at all with this CD. Do not judge this CD by the front cover.

What a CD this is! Stephen Hough, whom I've enjoyed in Franck and other knuckle-busting music, is monumentally fine in the Hummel concertos. While these pieces hark back to Mozart, they look slightly beyond Beethoven as well, to Field's and, especially, Chopin's concertos. Ravishing music all of it, but the truly great music comes in the last movement of Concerto No. 3. Around a superbly haughty theme that should be among Hummel's greatest hits (along with the vibrant Trumpet Concerto), the composer spins a long, always enticing movement in which the piano is almost never silent, and the pianist is almost never at rest from his virtuoso task.

Stephen Hough has said this is some of the most challenging music he has ever played, and I can believe it. Scintillating accompaniments by the English Chamber Orchestra and top-notch recorded sound round out a package that is a must-have for lovers of the Classical concerto.

What's wrong with a couple of piano concertos by Hummel? Well, it is simple: they're very difficult to play. But they are great to listen to!

That means that if you want the full experience of listening to these concertos, you need to get a recording of them by someone who can really play them. And Stephen Hough does a superb job; this is one of Hough's early great recordings.

Hummel, a pupil of Mozart as a child, was, of course, was a fine composer. I think Hummel's wind concerti may be his most striking works, but I also especially love the B-minor piano concerto on this disk. The A-minor concerto is good as well. If you haven't heard these concertos before, you truly ought to try this CD.