Johann Nepomuk Hummel: Complete Piano Sonatas, Vol. 1

On this CD:

1. Piano Sonata No.1 in C major, Op.2a/3
Composed by Johann Nepomuk Hummel
Performed by Constance Keene

2. Piano Sonata No.2 in E-flat major, Op.13
Composed by Johann Nepomuk Hummel
Performed by Constance Keene

3. Piano Sonata No.3 in F minor, Op.20
Composed by Johann Nepomuk Hummel
Performed by Constance Keene

Tracks:

Sonata No. 1 In C Major, Op. 2, No. 3: Allegro Spiritoso
Sonata No. 1 In C Major, Op. 2, No. 3: Adagio
Sonata No. 1 In C Major, Op. 2, No. 3: Rondo
Sonata No. 2 In Eb Major, Opus 13: Allegro con Brio
Sonata No. 2 In Eb Major, Opus 13: Adagio con gran Espressione
Sonata No. 2 In Eb Major, Opus 13: Finale, Allegro conspirito
Sonata No. 3 In F Minor, Op. 29: Allegro Moderato
Sonata No. 3 In F Minor, Op. 29: Adagio Maestoso
Sonata No. 3 In F Minor, Op. 29: Finale, Presto

Customer Reviews:

Interesting music...Would be more so with better interpreter.......2001-08-15

This album and its two companions are fascinating. By listening to this music, which was written around the same time as Beethoven's most thrilling piano works, one realizes just how avant-garde Beethoven (and Mozart and Haydn and Schubert, for that matter) really were. These are easy-on-the-ear, happy pieces, that don't so much develop as repeat,or repeat with simple variations and ornamentations. There's little dramatic trension, virtually no drama by modern-day ears' standards (though I'm sure it was demanding to audiences of its day). The works are pleasant and easy on the ear and easily forgotten the moment they are done. (Those interested in the history of this kind of music, and its place in Viennese society vis a vis the more "weighty" and innovative music of Beethoven, Mozart, et al, should check out the book "Beethoven and the Construction of Genius: Musical Politics in Vienna, 1792-1803," by Tia DeNora....) Here and there are moments of interest, unusual strokes and sheer exuberance. But they're far and few between and gone all too quickly. (These are much blander than Hummel's piano concerti, at least to my ears.) Constance Keene plays cleanly but without much expression or personality, and sometimes gets tripped up in the areas requiring more dexterity. One keeps wondering, though, what these works would sound like, what surprises are still locked up in them, waiting for a Pires or Pollini to reveal them to the world.

Music Track:

Music Track

music track

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