Hummel: Piano Trios, Vol. 1 (nos 2, 3, 6, 7)

Johann Nepomuk Hummel studied with Mozart, later taking lessons from Salieri, and worked closely with Haydn at the court in Esterházy. This exalted pedigree equipped him well for the life of a virtuoso keyboard player and composer, and he became admired as a distinguished writer of church and theatre music in particular. But he did not neglect chamber music, composing a series of Piano Trios that reveal his sure command of the idiom. These entertaining works reflect the musical current of the time-with variations, a fashionable and delectable Rondo alla turca, snappy rhythms, and warmly lyrical melodies.