Johann Nepomuk Hummel 1

Johann Nepomuk Hummel 1, originally uploaded by dugspr — Back in Canada.

Johann Nepomuk Hummel 1

Johann Nepomuk Hummel or Jan Nepomuk Hummel (14 November 1778 – 17 October 1837) was a composer and virtuoso pianist of Austrian origin who was born in Pressburg (present-day Bratislava, Slovakia). His music reflects the transition from the Classical to the Romantic musical era. Hummel was born in Pressburg (now Bratislava), Slovakia. His father, Josef Hummel, was the director of the Imperial School of Military Music in Vienna and the conductor there of Schikaneder's Theater Orchestra. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart offered the boy music lessons at the age of eight after being impressed with his ability. Hummel was taught and housed by Mozart for two years free of charge and made his first concert appearance at the age of nine, at one of Mozart's concerts. Hummel's father then led him on a European tour, arriving in London, where he received instruction from Muzio Clementi and stayed for four years before returning to Vienna. In 1791, Franz Joseph Haydn, who was in London at the same time as young Hummel, composed a sonata in A flat for Hummel, who played its premiere in the Hanover Square Rooms in Haydn's presence. When Hummel finished, Haydn reportedly thanked the young man and gave him a guinea. The outbreak of the French Revolution and the following Terror caused Hummel to cancel a planned tour through Spain and France. Instead he concertized his way back to Vienna. Upon Hummel's return to Vienna he was taught by Johann Georg Albrechtsberger, Haydn, and Antonio Salieri. In 1804, Hummel succeeded Haydn as Kapellmeister to Prince Esterházy's establishment at Eisenstadt. He held this post for seven years before being dismissed for neglecting his duties. Following this, he toured Russia and Europe and married the opera singer Elisabeth Röckel. They had two sons.