Hummel: Piano Sonatas

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JOHANN NEPOMUK HUMMEL
Hummel: Piano Sonatas
Stephen Hough (piano)

[ Hyperion / CD ]

Release Date: Saturday 20 December 2003

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Once more Hyperion is proud to champion music that has little seen the light of day in the shadow of the greats. Hummel was revered in his lifetime not only ahead of those we call the greats today but by the greats of his day, Schumann, Liszt, Chopin and Mendelssohn among them. Hummel's unjust posthumous neglect lasted until only very recently.

Never having been content with a repertoire of warhorses, Hough has throughout his career made a point of playing Hummel, who's music of such fresh imagination pre-echoes more familiar music. Chopin in particular was happy to use ideas prompted by Hummel's example. We are at the bridge between the classical and the romantic styles and Hough's instinctively virile elegance brings out the sense of adventure that is at the heart of Hummel's vibrant imagination.

A disc to explore and re-visit.

"These three sonatas encapsulate Hummel's stylistic development from a disciple of Mozart to a pioneer of the new Romantic pianism.If you want to explore these brilliant, intriguingly diverse sonatas, this fabulous disc is the one to go for."
***** Five Stars BBC Music Magazine (Jan 04)

"Stephen Hough… is in his element. He has the theatrical flair to catch Hummel the showman, from gleaming scales to trademark thirds, and he so beautifully underlines the poignant fluctuations from major and minor in the D major first movement, a feature that reminds us that Hummel was born just inside the Czech border. And.. when you've bought and enjoyed this recording, why not book your seat for Hough's September performance with the NZSO where he'll play Saint-Saens' elegant Fourth Concerto."
(William Dart, NZ Herald).

Tracks:

Piano Sonata in F sharp minor Op 81 [25'09]
Allegro [8'21]
Largo con molt'espressione [8'58]
Vivace [7'39]

Piano Sonata in D major Op 106 [26'36]
Allegro moderato, ma risoluto [11'51]
Un scherzo all'antico: Allegro, ma non troppo [3'52]
Larghetto a capriccio [4'29]
Allegro vivace [6'11]

Piano Sonata in F minor Op 20 [17'33]
Allegro moderato [8'03]
Adagio maestoso - [5'28]
Presto [3'59]