Johann Nepomuk Hummel

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Lore & Background

Hummel was a child prodigy. At age eight, he was offered free music lessons by Mozart, who was impressed with his ability. He made his first concert appearance at nine at one of Mozart's concerts. His father then took him on a European tour; in London he received lessons from Muzio Clementi and performed a Mozart piano concerto and his own sonata. In 1791, he premiered a Haydn piano trio. After returning to Vienna in 1793, he studied with Johann Georg Albrechtsberger, Haydn, and Salieri. He became friends with Ludwig van Beethoven and performed in Beethoven's orchestral work Wellingtons Sieg. In 1804, Haydn appointed Hummel as his successor as Konzertmeister of Nikolaus II, Prince Esterházy's estate at Eisenstadt. He received the title of Kapellmeister only after Haydn's death in 1809. He was dismissed in 1811 for neglecting his duties. He later served as Kapellmeister in Stuttgart (1816–1818) and Weimar (1819–1837), where he befriended Goethe. He helped establish a musicians' pension scheme and was key in developing intellectual property and copyright law. In 1832, in failing health, he entered partial retirement until his death.

Reader's Guide

Hummel's music took a different direction from Beethoven's, stepping into modernity through pieces such as his Piano Sonata in F-sharp minor, Op. 81, and his Fantasy, Op. 18, which influenced Schubert's Wanderer Fantasy. His main oeuvre is for the piano, including eight piano concertos, ten piano sonatas, and numerous chamber works. He also wrote a Trumpet Concerto in E major, a mandolin concerto, and 22 operas and Singspiels. His output notably lacks a symphony. His instructional work, A Complete Theoretical and Practical Course of Instruction on the Art of Playing the Piano Forte (1828), sold thousands of copies and introduced new fingering and ornament styles. Through his student Carl Czerny, who later taught Franz Liszt, Hummel influenced later nineteenth-century pianistic technique. Liszt admired and often performed Hummel's works. Hummel's influence is also seen in early works by Mendelssohn, Chopin, and Schumann. Although he died famous, his music was quickly forgotten during the Romantic period and only later reestablished through recordings and live performances.

Did You Know?

• Hummel was an only child, unusual for that period.
• At age eight, Mozart offered him free music lessons and housed him for two years.
• He married opera singer Elisabeth Röckel on 16 May 1813.
• Schubert dedicated his last three piano sonatas to Hummel, though the dedication was later changed to Schumann.
• Hummel was a freemason and bequeathed part of his garden to his masonic lodge.

Prodigy Among Giants

Hummel was born in 1778 in Pressburg (now Bratislava) as an only child, named after the Czech saint John of Nepomuk. His father was a violinist and music teacher who held various court and theatre positions. The family relocated to Vienna around 1786 or 1787. At eight, Mozart was so struck by the boy's ability that he took him in, teaching and housing him free of charge for two years. At nine, Hummel made his first public concert appearance at one of Mozart's own concerts. His father then took him on a European tour; in London in 1790 he studied with Muzio Clementi and performed to acclaim at Hanover Square Rooms, playing a Mozart concerto and a sonata of his own. In 1791, the thirteen-year-old premiered a Haydn piano trio at the same venue. Back in Vienna by 1793, he studied under Albrechtsberger, Haydn, and Salieri—concurrently with the young Beethoven, who became a close friend. This extraordinary constellation of mentors placed Hummel at the very heart of the Classical tradition.

Court Service and Advocacy for Musicians

In 1804, Haydn named Hummel his successor as Konzertmeister at the Esterházy estate in Eisenstadt. Though he assumed many Kapellmeister duties because Haydn's health no longer permitted them, Hummel kept the lesser title out of deference until Haydn's death in 1809. He served the prince for seven years before being dismissed in 1811 for neglecting his obligations. He subsequently held Kapellmeister posts in Stuttgart (1816–1818) and Weimar (1819–1837). In Weimar he formed a close friendship with Goethe and became a tireless advocate for musicians' welfare, establishing one of the first pension schemes through benefit concert tours. He also played a pivotal role in shaping early intellectual property and copyright law, fighting back against unethical publishers who exploited composers' works. In 1825, the Parisian firm of Aristide Farrenc secured French publishing rights for all his future compositions. By 1832, at fifty-four and in declining health, he eased into partial retirement, a state that continued until his death five years later.

Bridge Between Eras and Enduring Influence

Hummel's music occupies a unique bridge between the Classical and Romantic eras, and his influence on nineteenth-century piano writing is substantial. Composers as diverse as Chopin, Liszt, and Mendelssohn drew on his techniques and ideas. His Piano Sonata in F-sharp minor, Op. 81, was particularly treasured by Robert Schumann. Schubert, a personal friend, dedicated his final three piano sonatas to Hummel, though both men were already dead when the works were first published, and the dedication was quietly reassigned to Schumann. Hummel also maintained a warm relationship with Beethoven, visiting him in Vienna with his wife and pupil Ferdinand Hiller, and later performing at Beethoven's memorial concert. Among his notable students were Hiller and Alexander Müller. Yet despite dying famous, Hummel was rapidly eclipsed by the Romantic wave; his disciplined, balanced classicism seemed old-fashioned beside the tempestuous bravura of Liszt's generation. He was overlooked even in the early twentieth-century classical revival, much like Haydn before him. Only in recent decades, through a growing number of recordings and live performances, has his music found a renewed place in the repertoire.

Family, Freemasonry, and a Quiet End

On 16 May 1813, Hummel married the opera singer Elisabeth Röckel. In his later Weimar years, Hummel's closest intellectual companion was Goethe, whose death in March 1832 severed a vital social and artistic connection and accelerated his withdrawal from public life. Like Haydn and Mozart, Hummel was a freemason, and he bequeathed a considerable portion of the garden behind his Weimar residence to his masonic lodge. He died peacefully on 17 October 1837 and was buried in the Historical Cemetery in Weimar. At the time of his death, he watched a new generation of virtuosi rise and his own style fade from favor, yet he remained respected and admired by those who knew his work.