Johann Nepomuk Hummel - Ballet Music (Howard Shelley)

Information

Composer: Johann Nepomuk Hummel

• (01-12) von Mytilene Sappho, ballet suite, Op. 68
• (13) Das Zauberschloss (The Magic Castle), ballet suite
• (14-26) Twelve Waltzes and Coda

London Mozart Players
Howard Shelley, conductor

Date: 2007
Label: Chandos
https://www.chandos.net/products/catalogue/CHAN%2010415

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Review

To the extent most of us today are familiar with Hummel, it's primarily as a piano composer: his sonatas and sonatinas still serve as teaching pieces, while his piano concertos have received more recent recorded attention. To encounter him as a composer of symphonic ballets, then, comes as a bit of a shock. The two ballet scores represented here were apparently composed for the dancer-choreographer Giulio Viganò, the brother of Salvatore Viganò, for whom Beethoven wrote The Creatures of Prometheus. Stylistically, these scores are also something of a surprise. Where Hummel's linear piano writing and clean textures constitute an exemplar of Classical clarity, these ballets incorporate both forward- and backward-looking elements, now juxtaposing them, now blending them. 

Thus, the opening tutti of Sappho von Mitilene is firm and proclamatory in the Classical manner, but the brass is more prominent than it would be, say, in Beethoven - indeed, throughout the score, the brasses sound unusually "present" in supporting chords. The Allegretto (track 6) has a recognizably Classical structure, its recurring march theme alternating with more smoothly lyrical material, and the drone bass of the Pastorale (track 9) underlines a kinship with country-dance models. "La furia" (track 11) supports busy string and woodwind activity with a rigorous rhythmic framework. On the other hand, the horn solo in the Larghetto (track 8) suggests Weber, while the English horn in Madame Viganò's solo (track 4) evokes an operatic aria. The oboe's graceful, sinuous waltz in the Andante maestoso (track 11) foreshadows similar melodies in the great Romantic ballets of Tchaikovsky and Delibes. 

From the start, Das Zauberschloss veers explicitly into the programmatic and pictorial, with its pastoral woodwind duets and ominous fanfares. Later, a series of courtly-sounding dances evokes medieval models while serving a function analogous to that of "characteristic dances" in the big popular ballets, while the score's closing section fairly bristles with forward energy. The Twelve Waltzes and Coda anticipate the symphonic waltzes of the Strauss family. After an opening trumpet fanfare, calling the listener to attention, there follows a series of brief dances, each less than a minute in length, capped by a rousing coda. 

Don't let all the discussion of various stylistic fingerprints obscure the fact that this well-wrought, substantial music is unfailingly tuneful and engaging. These scores are not "light" or "Pops" fare, but transitional works in the development of ballet which repay listening. 

Howard Shelley realizes both the Classical and Romantic aspects of this music superbly, firmly etching its rhythmic and harmonic contours while allowing the broad singing melodies room to expand lyrically, though his generous rubato in the clarinet's rustic theme of the Twelve Waltzes and Coda belies its presumed purpose as dance music. The tuttis, especially in the codas, go with a hurtling, airborne momentum. The London Mozart Players sound surprisingly large as recorded, but their playing is refined and suave; the oboe makes particularly delicate, piquant contributions. 

Chandos provides its favored long resonance, which may produce harsh or opaque results on some equipment. The ambience doesn't obscure important musical detail, however, and the "big" recorded sound reinforces the impression of these as robust, Romantic scores. 

-- Stephen Francis Vasta, MusicWeb International

More reviews:
http://www.classical-music.com/review/hummel-17
http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_cd_review.php?id=4525
http://www.allmusic.com/album/hummel-ballet-music-from-sappho-von-mitilene-das-zauberschlo%C3%9F-mw0001845000
http://www.amazon.com/Sappho-Ballet-Twelve-Waltzes-Coda/dp/B000NY1660

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Johann Nepomuk Hummel (14 November 1778 – 17 October 1837) was an Austrian composer and virtuoso pianist, whose music reflects the transition from the Classical to the Romantic musical era. Hummel was taught and housed by Mozart for two years, and later studied with Albrechtsberger, Haydn and Salieri. His main oeuvre is for the piano, on which instrument he was one of the great virtuosi of his day. Later 19th century pianistic technique was influenced by Hummel, through his instruction of Carl Czerny who later taught Liszt. Hummel's influence can also be seen in the early works of Chopin and Schumann.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Nepomuk_Hummel

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Howard Shelley (born 9 March 1950) is a British pianist and conductor. He was educated at Highgate School and the Royal College of Music. As pianist he has performed, broadcast and recorded around the world with leading orchestras and conductors. He made many recordings for Chandos, Hyperion and EMI, including Rachmaninov's complete piano music and concertos. As a conductor, he has held positions of Associate and Principal Guest Conductor with the London Mozart Players in a close relationship of over twenty years. He has appeared regularly on television and on the soundtrack of several films.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Shelley

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