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4.0 out of 5 stars
More good pieces by the forgotten master Hummel, January 31, 2001
This review is from: Hummel: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 1 - Nos. 2, 3, 5 (Audio CD)
It is very unfortunate that today, Johann Nepomuk Hummel has nearly been forgotten. Throughout the 1st half of the 19th century, he was considered animmortal. In fact, in Vienna, he was Beethoven's only real compositional and pianistic rival. WHile a decided classicist and follower of Mozart's school (Mozart was his teacher), in his later works, he shows strains of romanticism. The first two works are enjoyable pieces which could easily be attributed to early Beethooven. The f-sharp minor sonata, however, is the most important work on this CD. In it, Hummel breaks free of his former classic restraint and indulges in romantic flights of fanstasy. Chopin based his own b-minor sonata on this piece, much as he base his e-minor concerto on Hummels in a-minor (see my review of that piece). In any event, these are excellent pieces (although I find his piano concretos more exciting), performed by Hae-won Chang with precision and elegance (Hummel's own trademark as a performer).
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