●Although Hummel is one of the most famous pianists in Europe, his playing career may be surprisingly short.

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Apart from a boyhood prodigy and a brief period before being appointed to Stuttgart, his playing activity concentrated in the 1820s and early 1830s. His performances have provoked enthusiastic criticism, and critic exaggeration and flattery are commonplace (especially in magazines published by the publishers of Hummel's scores). But even with that, it's always been said that the playing is clear, neat, even, with great sound, subtlety, and effortless playing. Skill, the ability to create a sense of speed without increasing the tempo unnecessarily.

Beethoven's admirers, on the other hand, accused Hummel of lacking warmth and passion. For this criticism, however, Hummel's preference for the light-sounding Viennese piano must be taken into account, and the homogenous, transparent tone of this piano perfectly matched his aesthetic. Hiller cautions that it is irrelevant to criticize Hummel's playing for lacking Liszt's passion, but that is because Hummel rarely plays other people's works, nor does he tend to learn other people's playing styles. because it was not. Hummel's classicism and understatement did not mean that he did not have something to excite the audience. There was also a thing.

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The program of Hummel's concerts was in line with the customs of the time, centering on his own chamber music, concertos, and improvisations, as well as excerpts from operas and sometimes works by local composers. It was an addition to the work. Chamber musicians and singers were the best performers of their time. However, the quality of the orchestras procured locally during the tour was of mixed quality, and several times I had to play my own concerto with only the framework of the accompaniment. Hummel's activity as a conductor increased in the 1820s, and it was in this area that he became involved as a performer with the works of others.

The few extant criticisms of his conducting are quite general, some expressing dissatisfaction with his coldness, others admiring his passion, but the unanimous admiration Accuracy and the ability to instill certainty in the orchestra.

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● Comments on Hummel's interpretation often reflect the author's preconceived notions, but praise for his improvisation is almost unanimous.

Hummel was more adept at improvising than performing formal works, and was especially good at creating four- and five-part fugue variations. His typical improvisations include a fantasia-like introduction, a theme taken from a famous opera or chosen for a concert or party that night, followed by a number of free variations; Sometimes it ended with a paraphrase of the finale of a famous opera such as <Don Giovanni>.

In his autobiography, Spohr describes an improvisation following a party at the Congress of Vienna, and Hummel manipulates the theme of that day's concert into several counterpoint variations, a fugue, and a Bravura finale. It is said that he invented and performed all these in a waltz tempo so that everyone could dance.

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● For many years Hummel was one of the most important and highest paid teachers in Germany and Austria. From his pupils came the next generation of outstanding musicians. Hiller, Mendelssohn, Karl Eduard Hartknoch, Adolf Henselt, Karl Georg Mangold, Sigismond Thalberg, Giuseppe Unia, (Phalanch) and others.

Liszt gave up due to the high cost of lessons and went to Czerny.

Schumann, too, did not study with Hummel in the end, but felt that being a disciple would work to his advantage, even though he thought he was ten years behind the times, so he took lessons for a while. I was seriously thinking about it.

 

According to Hiller, Hummel's primary concern was getting the main melody, proper and sure fingering, and clarity. When teaching he used only his own works, but his pupils often played works by other composers. Normally he taught only piano, but Hiller sees him as more talented as a composition teacher.

 

Hummel's pedagogy is summarized in his Piano Course, Commentary on Theory and Practice of Piano Performance. The three-volume book, which is said to have sold several thousand copies as soon as it was published in 1828, is the most important source of information on late Viennese playing, especially ornamentation. The book is a strange mix of technical knowledge and pedantry, covering topics as diverse as fingering practice, improvisation, and large and small semitones. Some of the descriptions of ornamentation seem to be in Hummel's style rather than contemporary practice, but even so the book provides valuable insight into the aesthetics of the period.

The pedagogical intent of the book goes far beyond the for-profit run-of-the-mill textbooks common in the 19th century, and that while many textbooks remain guidebooks, Hummel is a musician. The ultimate goal is to emphasize the spirit of Bach.

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