Johann Hummel

Johann Hummel (1778-1837), German pianist and composer, important in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in music and renowned in his own time as a pianist and composer equal to Ludwig van Beethoven. Born in Pressburg (now Bratislava, Slovakia), he studied primarily with his father and with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He succeeded the Austrian composer Joseph Haydn as music director to the Esterházy family and held important posts in Stuttgart and Weimar. His works include seven piano concertos, which strongly influenced those of Chopin, and numerous works for piano solo; a variety of chamber music, notably the septet in D minor; and operas and masses. His career was significant in the development of the cult of the virtuoso pianist—a tradition that continued with Chopin, Thalberg and Liszt in the 19th century and extends to Van Cliburn and Horowitz in the 20th.