Johann Nepomuk Hummel - Piano Works (Howard Shelley)

Information

Composer: Johann Nepomuk Hummel

• (01) Rondo, Op. 11
• (02) Caprice, Op. 49
• (03-13) Variations on a theme from Gluck's 'Armide', Op. 57
• (14) La contemplazione: Una fantasia piccola, Op. 107 No. 3
• (15) Rondo all'Ungherese, Op. 107 No. 6
• (16) La bella capricciosa: Polonaise, Op. 55
• (17-19) Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 13

Howard Shelley, piano
Date: 2000
Label: Chandos
https://www.chandos.net/products/catalogue/CHAN%209807

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Review

This attractive recital presents several sides of Hummel's creative personality, from the classical sonata to the fanciful early romantic character piece, with a good deal of virtuosity thrown in. The items I relished most were some of the more contemplative, pensive ones - including, of course, the 'Contemplazione' from his Op 107 bagatelles, a beautiful piece that takes a short theme as its starting point (it either is, or resembles, the opening of the fantasia slow movement of Haydn's Op 76 No 6 Quartet) and weaves a poetic fabric around and beyond it. The other bagatelle here, the 'Rondo all'ungherese', is quite a different kind of piece, exploiting ideas of gipsy themes and rhythms with a good deal of wit.

Both respond splendidly to Howard Shelley's playing, his attentive shaping, his sense of the music's poetry, his springy rhythms. These are latish works, from the mid-1820s; the rather earlier Capriccio, Op 49, is another particular success, notable for Shelley's exquisite timing and aristocratic poise in the slow music and his brilliant fingerwork in the fast.

The recital begins with the earliest piece, an 1804 Rondo to which Shelley brings crisp phrasing, precise ornaments and happily judged touches of rubato. He ends with a sonata of 1805, more classical in manner than much of what has gone before: easy to say that the style is Beethovenian with less exalted content, but the central Adagio really is a fine piece with a vein of nobility of its own. The other items are the ingenious Gluck variations, in which Shelley shows a fine command of piano sonorities and some subtle management of rhythms, as well as ample brilliance in the closing pages, and the polonaise La bella capricciosa, which moves from a gentle, unassuming start to a coruscating finish. The recording is a model of clear and rich piano tone.

-- Stanley Sadie, Gramophone

More reviews:
BBC Music Magazine  PERFORMANCE: ***** / SOUND: *****
https://www.amazon.com/Hummel-Piano-Works-Johann-Nepomuk/dp/B00004RDWC

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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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